Owe You
by Acantha Rayne Oak-Moon
Summary: 10 Years Post War - Set at Hogwarts. Draco owes favours, Hermione is going to collect. Once more a failed one shot. I love chapters. Unsure of rating, gone for safety. Please review with what you think. We've gone from humour, to angst to serious anger, now emotional turmoil and heartbreaking declarations.
1. Chapter 1 - Favours

Chapter 1 – Favours

"Malfoy, you know Poppy could've dealt with this. Why do you insist on continuously coming to me when you get caught on the magic end of student wands?"

"You know the Ministry put a cap on my magic since the war. You're the one who bloody insisted on it. Sadist. I can only cast basic shields which are fine for the firsties and the second years but once they hit third year and get their guest lectures from Potter about breaking through basic shields and conjuring extensive ones in Defence, I'm screwed. I'd say you owe me one."

"Which I suppose is why I continue to keep fixing your spell-damage."

"Bleeding heart Gryffindor." The scowl was still there with his insults, but it lacked the venom of his youth.

"Yeah, love you too." Hermione couldn't help declaring sarcastic feelings for him; he cringed every time.

"Will you stop using that as a retort? It's unnerving. I've told you before, being raised as a pure-blood, especially as a Malfoy, expressing feelings like that just isn't done."

"Relax Malfoy, I'm teasing. I can't resist making you cringe. It's adorable."

"You take pleasure in my discomfort. Some Gryffindor you are."

"Always. You get a little dimple, right here…" Hermione touched her right index finger to the point between her eyebrows. "So cute."

Draco looked contemplative for a moment before a wicked smirk graced his features.

"You fancy me. That's why you're always so eager to patch me up from spell damage."

Hermione looked genuinely horror struck.

"It's okay, Granger. You're not alone. Is that why you stay in the castle instead of going home to that Weasley boyfriend of yours?"

_Yes._

"No, of course not. It's just easier to stay in the castle, we can't afford our own place yet and Molly is loath to cut the apron strings."

"Okay, okay. But if you ever want to know what a real pure-blood lover is like, you know where I am."

Hermione rolled her eyes but that remark deserved a retort that hit below the belt.

"Hiding from firsties in your quarters?"

"Give it a rest Granger. Just because you waste your wand skills in the Hogwarts library, don't tar the rest of us with the same brush."

"After the amount of wand work I've had to do in my life, it's nice to take a break. Besides, your visits always keep my skills sharp."

"You should probably thank me then. I know just how you can show your… appreciation."

"Careful Malfoy. I've read every book in this library and I know each jinx, hex and curse you can think of. Not to mention some of my own which would put the student's fun with you to shame."

"Fine, I'll give the flirting a rest. For now."

"Finally, he listens to me."

"Yeah well, I suppose it had to happen eventually."

"Don't worry, I won't expect a repeat performance."

"Good. I have a reputation to uphold, you know?"

"Your reputation is fuelled by teenage girls who have noticed you're the only Professor under forty."

"Hey, I'll take it where I can get it."

"Disgusting!"

"Honestly though, Granger… thanks. I owe you one"

"Just the one? Think again, Malfoy. You owe me tons but as your arrogance knows no bounds and you find it very difficult to admit you practically need me as a bodyguard, I'll settle for three."

"Three? In what backwards universe do I owe you three favours?"

"Would you like me to list them?"

He thought for a moment, he knew this was likely to backfire worse than a Lockhart memory charm with Weasley's wand but there was a chance it could pave the way to something delicious with the librarian of Hogwarts.

"Actually yes, Granger. I would."

"Okay, you asked for it."

"Anything else I've asked for you'd like to give me with so little resistance?"

She ignored his cheesy attempt at flirting. That refrain lasted all of a minute. He was getting better.

"One - Keeping your pale backside out of Azkaban."

"That was Potter, not you."

"Even with Harry's testimony the vote was fifty one to fifty in favour of a ten year sentence. If it wasn't for my discovery that a certain wizard on the Wizengamot has a foot fetish and then my allowing him to do something that sated his… needs, you would have rats and Death Eaters for company."

"What? You never told me that."

"Big fat favour owed. A ten year long favour really; if you think about it."

He rolled his eyes but was quiet while he thought about Hermione's confession.

"Thank you." He stated simply. Sincerely.

Hermione smiled at him.

"You didn't deserve that sentence. If it was only a year or two, I wouldn't have let my toes be sucked for you."

"Oh yuck! Granger, no details. Please."

Hermione laughed.

"Two – Getting you out of that awful betrothal contract with Astoria Greengrass. I think you maybe owe me for life on that one."

He rolled his eyes.

"Fine. I suppose that one is valid too. I'm not sure I want to know the answer to this but… how did you…?"

"I gave your father a blow job!" Hermione said with the straightest face and even tone, Draco believed it.

He just stared open mouthed.

"It's why your flirting never works on me Malfoy. Why would I settle for the facsimile, when I got to play with the original?"

"Please, tell me you're joking?" He asked, pleadingly.

She wanted to keep it up, she really did but he just looked so ghostly white, she feared he'd be mistaken for a ghost. She let it go, her face cracking under the intensity of utter mirth and she howled with unrestrained laugher.

"Of course I'm joking, you prat." She said breathlessly, laughing so hard she had to hold onto Draco to hold her up.

"I'll get you for that, Granger. Mark my words."

"Yeah, yeah. Promises, promises. It's not like I can trust a Slytherin to keep his word, even on a thinly veiled threat."

"Don't bet on that though. Did you say there was a third favour I owe you?"

"I said there were tons of favours you owed me but I'd settle for three."

"So when did I incur this third debt?"

"I'll keep this one _small_. I think helping you out of your predicament tonight should count for a bigger favour than usual. Considering the mental image it gave me that makes me want to self-obliviate."

Draco's cheeks pinked adorably.

"Oi, less of the small."

"Okay, I'm sorry. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. And as your magic is capped, getting your fly hexed to trap your wizardhood in its teeth is hardly your fault. But inflicting the sight of it on me, is."

"I suppose there are worse things you could haul up from the past."

"I've told you hundreds of times. The past is over. You were not responsible for what happened to me at the Manor and I have never blamed you."

Draco gave a sheepish smile. "Thanks."

"You are welcome Malfoy and as always, you are forgiven."

"So, when are you calling in these favours then?"

"I'll let you know. Here…" she tossed him a small, blue glass pot with a screw lid.

"What's this?"

"Bruise salve, for _sensitive_ areas. You're dick will be turning a few funny colours tomorrow."

"Is there anything you don't have in that bag of yours?"

"Nope. I even have your father in there. It's where I tie him up to wait for me."

Malfoy turned green.

"Will you stop that? You'll give me nightmares."

She laughed.

"Go on, bugger off. You've got your third years in half hour and I need to go tend to your father."

He shot her a scathing look, almost as intimidating as he wanted before turning on his heel and exiting in a huff.


	2. Chapter 2 - Slytherin Prince

Chapter 2 – Slytherin Prince

_Two weeks later…_

"Come in then." Hermione said from the opened portrait of her quarters, sounding depressed.

"You look awful."

"Thank you so much for that assessment, Malfoy. Not the worst thing you've ever said to me. You're losing your touch."

She sat down at the small table and gestured him into the second chair.

"Do you want a drink?"

"Coffee?"

"Nope, just this." She wandlessly summoned a bottle of firewhiskey.

"Well, I never thought I'd see the day… Hermione Granger, depressed, crying and drinking alone in her quarters."

"I'm not alone, you're here but if you're going to be your usual sneering, sarcastic self, you know where the door is."

"I can't leave without some sort of explanation for McGonagall. You haven't been down to the Great Hall all week. She's getting worried. We all are."

"Even you?"

"Well, erm… yes; I suppose I'm worried too. Not so much with your absence from staff meals but seeing you now, something's clearly wrong."

"A round of applause for Mr. Observant."

"And you call me snarky."

"I'm sorry, I know you're trying to help, I just can't talk about it."

"Isn't there anything I can do? McGonagall will skin me alive if I don't tell her I at least tried to help."

It took five minutes for Hermione to speak.

"Get completely paralytic with me?" Doubt and hope warred in her question.

Draco shifted nervously on his seat. It was a bad idea but maybe it would help. Stranger things have happened.

"We're gonna need another bottle."

* * *

_An hour later…_

"You're pretty good at this Granger."

"Good at what? The drinking? It helps me to stop thinking." She spoke in a rhythmic voice that matched her rhyme.

"Yeah. Almost two bottles we've got through and not only are you still conscious but you're not even slurring your words."

"Gryffindor stubbornness, I'm afraid. My mind is too strong to be addled or swayed."

"You get brutally honest when you've had too many and hilariously, you rhyme everything you say. I remember from last year's Christmas party."

"I'm honest anyway, in case you never knew, unlike a Slytherin, I'm brave and true."

"Not that kind of honesty. You walked up to Flitwick, bold as anything and said, and I quote: 'Professor, Professor you're just the perfect height, for kisses that promise me oral delights'."

She blushed.

"I'm gonna get you some coffee. I like the honesty but the rhyming starts to grate pretty quickly."

"Okie dokie, my Slytherin Prince, don't brew it too strong or it'll make me wince."

He rolled his eyes as he walked to the kitchenette, but stopped and turned back, looking surprised.

"Did you just call me _your_ Slytherin Prince? Where did that come from?"

The blush deepened. She might be rhyming but her mind was still sharp-ish.

"I'm hardly a Princess, despite what they say, but you rescued me tonight from a lonely birthday."

"What? It's your birthday? Why didn't you say?"

"You're beginning to copy my habit to rhyme. If you do it on purpose, it passes the time."

"Wait! You're doing that on purpose?"

"Of course I am, you funny blonde ferret; I'm immune to alcohol, except a good claret."

"Ha! That didn't rhyme."

"It was close enough. You try rhyming something with ferret."

"How did I go from Slytherin Prince to ferret in a matter of seconds?"

"I think of you a hundred different ways on any given day."

Draco grinned.

"Do you realise what you just said."

Hermione thought for a moment, not understanding where he was going with this.

"What? What did I just say?"

"That you think about me all day."

Unbearable smugness.

She clapped a hand to her mouth and cringed.

"I didn't mean it like that." She squeaked.

"Of course you didn't." he replied in mock disbelief.

"If you must know, I meant that when you actually let that sarcastic façade fade away you are more like a prince than most people see. Most of the time however, you're being the ferrety git that we all love to hate."

"Wow, you're really not pissed are you?"

"Of course not. It takes more than a few shots of firewhiskey to get _me_ falling flat on my back."

"Oh? What does it take?"

Instead of another eye roll which he was expecting, she sported a grin so sinful it really shouldn't belong on a Gryffindor face at all. He liked it.

"That's for me know and you to find out."

Incredulous eyebrows shot into his hairline.

"Is that so?"

She nodded, the sinful expression never leaving her face.

"Another?"

"Bring it on, ferret."

* * *

_Another hour later…_

"Can you at least give me something to tell Minerva now? If we keep going at this rate, I won't remember what you tell me anyway."

"Fine. If you must know, Ron and I… we… that is to say he… well, he…"

Draco put a hand on hers as it sat in her lap.

"I know you probably find it hard to trust me but I promise you I can keep a secret."

She looked into his beautiful, liquid silver eyes and smiles slightly, finding genuine concern there, she analysed the pros and cons of opening herself up and decided with all the grit of her Gryffindor determination that he was worth the risk.

"He cheated on me Draco" she finally blurted as the unshed tears of the last week burst forth.

Without thinking he pulled her into his arms, holding her small body as it trembled with the release of pent up emotion. He squeezed tighter as she relinquished all ability to hold herself up. Losing control over her tears apparently also allowed her control over alcohol to wash away too.

Fifteen minutes he held the sobbing, wailing witch until her tremulous breakdown diminished to sniffles and she pulled back.

"Feel better?"

"Yes. So much better. In fact…"

She leaned in and kissed him, more chastely than she wanted but she was testing the waters…

He pulled away.

"Hermione, I would love for you to mean that kiss and for it to go a lot further but I have a feeling it's more out of revenge at the moment and I don't want you hating yourself for it later. Or hating me for it."

"When did you become so staunchly moralistic?"

"I'm not, trust me. But you're heart-broken and have had way too much to drink. You're also one of the only friends I have left, especially here and I think under these circumstances you'd hate me for taking advantage of your vulnerable state. I don't want you to hate me."

"I've forgiven you for a lot worse, Malfoy." She snapped out. Two bottles of firewhiskey and her second rejection in a week did not feel good. Lashing out did.

"That's a low blow. If you'd really forgiven me, you wouldn't even bring the past up. It proves you're either pissed out of your brilliant mind or you really _haven't _forgiven me. Either way, you'll thank me in the morning for not aiding you in a huge mistake which neither of us can take back."

"I could always make it one of the ten-thousand favours you owe me, you know?"

"You said you'd let me off with three but do you really want to waste the precious gift of me being in your debt on a revenge fuck? Come on, Granger. I thought you were smart. You can do better than that."

"Fine, if you're not gonna shag me, fuck off! I'll sort myself out. As usual."

Draco's eyes hit his hairline faster than they ever had before. He couldn't believe she would admit such a thing; especially to him. The scowl on her face rivalled his own and he knew he'd hurt her but he also knew that for once, he'd done the right thing. Even if she didn't like him for it, she'd respect it when she was thinking clearer. He hoped.

With nothing else left to say and at least a basic excuse for her absence to hand to McGonagall, he exited her chambers, turning back briefly at the door.

She had lay down on the sofa and silently conjured a blanket, sobbing again. His heart clenched.

"Happy Birthday, Granger." He whispered.


	3. Chapter 3 - Scary Librarian (Part 1)

Chapter 3 – Scary Librarian (Part 1)

The next morning, Hermione awoke in a foul temper. She was stiff from an uncomfortable position on the sofa, cold from where the blanket had slipped from her after the fire died and was playing host to the mother of all hangovers. An angry whomping willow had sprouted from her spinal cord in the night and was thrashing at every nerve ending in her brain. She knew she could limit everyone else's exposure to her own personal hell though; the rest of the professors didn't deserve her ire; well, except one.

_How dare he fucking reject me? For the last ten years I've done nothing but help him get his fucking life back after the fucking war after he screwed it up so fucking monumentally. I even got him the fucking apprenticeship with fucking Snape. Did he even fucking ask, just once, fucking ask what it cost me to get a fucking favour out of fucking Snape? Did he buggery? He just took it like the bastard fucking Slytherin arsehole he is. Now I'm in Snape's debt for ten fucking years… gods, he owes me so much more than fucking three. He'll never know how much he fucking owes me and even if he did he'd never fucking admit it._

Standing on wobbly legs, she headed for her bathroom, summoning a hangover potion on her way. It reached her as she arrived at the bathroom door and she downed it in one, not even bothering to look at the label, or the expiry date. _Shower; shower to wash that shitty night and my shitty fucking life down the plughole. Then coffee… blessed, caffeine rich, heavenly liquid of the Gods._

Her rage grew as she disrobed, stepping into the near boiling cascade once undressed.

_I fucking threw myself at him, offered myself up for whatever fucking depravity he wished to engage me in and he still had the audacity to fucking turn me down. Bastard fucking Slytherin tosser. How could I possibly have trusted him to do what I wanted instead of just pleasing himself? If I ever find out he fucking turned me down because of my fucking blood, he'll pray for the days of Voldemort… what a fucking coward! Godric, give me strength._

She stepped out of the shower, her headache retreating thanks to the potion but it didn't seem as effective as the one she took the morning before, or the morning before that. The truth was she'd needed potions to be pull her from hangovers every morning since Ron's little confession Friday night. Almost immediately when she'd returned to Hogwarts, a note had been sent to the dungeons, ordering a batch of hangover cure from Draco. She had the very brilliant plan, in her own depression of drinking herself beyond the high tolerance which she was usually proud of and into a complete state of intoxicated stupor. With only one hangover cure left in her stash, she'd sent the order for six potions even as she unscrewed the first bottle of firewhiskey.

It took longer than usual for her to get dressed in her grey librarian robes, frustrated and seething as she was, as she struggled with the buttons and tricky clasp at the back.

_Why the fuck do robes need three thousand fucking buttons anyway? I'm only a size eight, I don't need this many fucking buttons! And whose hair-brained scheme was is to put fastenings at the fucking back. Fucking dunderheads the lot of them, Snape had a fucking point. I'm fucking surrounded, by warts, blackheads and wasters. I don't know why I fucking bother, I really don't. I should go down to the Great Hall in my fucking underwear, show Mr-I'm-Too-Good-For-the-Gryffindor-Mudlood-Princess exactly what he's missing._

She growled and finally resorted to using her wand with a huff. She looked in the mirror and saw the dark circles under her eyes, the wild frizz of her hair, caused by drying it magically which was sparking with purple energy as her magic reflected the emotions she wasn't fighting to conceal. Another wave of her wand and she glamoured her appearance to at least look respectable; the last thing she wanted today was questions.

She headed for breakfast.

…

Hermione pushed open the grand double doors, expecting to see the concerned, sympathetic faces of her colleagues, assuming Draco – _dickhead Draco – _had passed on the reason for her week long absence; maybe hear a few mutterings about where she'd been all week from the students whom hung back at breakfast to avoid their first class. What she did not expect was for the vast expanse of the Great Hall to be completely devoid of life; no professors, no students, not even an elf and most annoyingly of all, no coffee; breakfast had been cleared too.

"Reesy!" she growled into the empty hall.

A house elf popped into the hall, dressed in a pillowcase, the same shade of grey as Hermione's robes, and bowed to her Mistress.

"How can Reesy serve you, Mistress Granger."

"What time is it, Reesy?" Hermione's tone was sharp, although not nearly as venomous as it could've been from the delay of coffee. She had hexed people before now for getting in between her and her first caffeine fix of the day – how else was she meant to deal with neurotic teenagers stressed about exams. It was hypocritical really; she had been just as bad when she was a student herself. No wonder Madam Pince always had a permanent scowl.

"Ten-fifteen Mistress. Poppin and Cuppy has opened the library Mistress. Professor Malfoy told Cuppy you were running late and to open the library in your stead."

_Oh did he now? And I wonder exactly how Professor bastard Malfoy knew I'd be running late. Maybe because he stayed in my room until Godric knows what time, leading me on, cheering me up and then kicking me in the fucking cunt when I wanted to show a little gratitude. Bastard fucking Malfoy. Why do I never learn… all wizards are scum; I should just give up and go for a witch._

"Oh did he now? I'll remind you Reesy that you, Cuppy and Poppin report directly to me, as such you should have come to find me when I was not present to open the library."

"My apologies, Mistress. Professor Malfoy summoned Cuppy before the library was due to opens. He told Headmistress too that you would not be at breakfast."

"For Godric's sake. Professor Malfoy had no right to tell Cuppy or the Headmistress anything. He had no knowledge of my movements this morning or my state of health."

She took a deep breath to attempt to calm down. It didn't work.

"Reesy, I'm going to the library. I need coffee in my office in five minutes and something resembling breakfast, then you, Cuppy and Poppin can return to your usual duties."

"Yes Mistress."

"Oh, and Reesy?"

"Yes, Mistress.

"If Professor Malfoy or anyone else wishes to find me today, you will tell them I am not to be disturbed. There is a new shipment arriving of second term books for N.E.W.T. students and I am not in the mood to deal with people while I work."

"Yes Mistress."

Dying to return to her haven of ancient tomes, the smell of parchment and finally, a cup of coffee, Hermione headed for the library. Once in her office, she warded the door to omit entrance to anyone with platinum blond hair, adding a hex to it to turn said hair bright ginger if the owner even tried to bypass her elves and gain entrance.

_I just can't deal with him today._

…

Reesy left the irate witch, having no idea what had caused her usually cheerful and friendly Mistress to have such a sour mood and apparated directly to the dungeons, as bid by Professor Malfoy. She knocked on the door to his quarters and within seconds was greeted with his presence.

"Professor Malfoy, sir; Reesy is here to tells you Mistress Granger has returned to the Library as you asked, sir."

"Is she ok, Reesy?"

"She is seemings very angry sir. She snapped at Reesy and ordered me to gets her coffee and breakfast. She is sounding like how Mr Malfoy was speaking to Dobby whens he was at the Malfoy Manor sir."

Draco took a very deep breath and felt a twinge of guilt as he run a hand down his face.

"I have a feeling that may be my fault Reesy. Don't worry about it. You run along and get Hermione her coffee; I didn't see her in the Great Hall so she must have missed breakfast completely and she's evil at the best of times without her coffee but today, she'll be out for blood."

"Yes sir." Reesy bowed before popping away.

_What on earth possessed her to snap at the elves? She's never nasty to them, not even in her coffee-deprived tempers. She can't be that pissed off, surely. She's never shown any interest in me before. Given our history I can hardly blame her. It was drink-infused come-on and I did the honourable thing. I was gentleman. So what on earth has her so mad? I need to see her, just to make sure she isn't going to hex me._

He exited his quarters and took the shortcut portrait from the dungeons to the first floor and entered the library. Hermione's office and quarters were set behind a portrait which was located at the very back of the Restricted Section. As he approached the portrait he could her voice bellowing at the elf…

"_This is unacceptable Reesy. There hasn't been a fuck up in the library of this magnitude since Harry Potter almost set the Restricted Section on fire in his first year. Get out of my sight and tell Cuppy and Poppin to stay out of my way too. I really do not have the patience to deal with elf-incompetence today."_

"_Y-y-yes Mistress."_ Came the very timid voice of a frightened Reesy.

"_Dismissed."_

Draco waited for the familiar pop of elf-apparition before heading for the door; he knew she'd probably told the elves to keep everyone out of her office but with the mood she was in they'd be avoiding her. As he stepped within the boundary of her wards, he felt the shimmy of her magic dance over him; it was thick, powerful and angry. His whole body heated with the force as it washed over him and the roots of his hair tingled.

_What in Salazar's name was that? That wasn't a regular warding. What on earth has she done?_

He checked his hands – fine; looked down at his robes – normal.

_That was too powerful to have not had any effect. Hmmm…_

He took a breath mint from his pocket and transfigured it into a hand mirror with his wand, took a breath and held it up to his face and only one word escaped his lips as he stared at his Weasley-like visage…

"Bitch!"

_Fuck her! If she wants to put stupid, childish wards up and turn me into the gormless weasel she can fuck off; I don't need this shit._

He turned on his heel and strode back toward the dungeons, muttering counter-curses and checking the mirror every few seconds. Nothing worked.

_Great! I'm facing fourth years like this. They're gonna tear me apart. I owe her nothing._

…

The morning passed quietly in the library, only N.E.W.T. students popped in and out for research purposes and Hermione kept herself locked in her office, leaving the elves to deal with them. The shipment of second term books which had arrived were the wrong edition and Hermione had spent almost two hours writing a very unflattering letter to the publishers about incompetence and inappropriate content – the four feet long parchment practically glowing red with the power behind her venomous words.

She summoned Poppin at one o'clock and ordered her very harshly to bring lunch, more coffee and a large bowl of ice cream. Not only was she livid at Ron, seething over Malfoy and ready to curse her third year self for the very idea of S.P.E.W., she also felt a hormonal surge of pre-menstrual tension flooding through her and the only thing that fixed that was ice cream.

On this occasion however, the frozen dessert only made her gums ache and her headache return.

_I fucking hate this place._

She unwarded her door and stomped out in a fit of adolescent temper; it had been too many hours since she had shouted at someone and she needed a release. The restricted section was too quiet as she stamped her feet with every stride and headed into the main area of the library. _Do students not have the backbone to sneak into the restricted section anymore? Gods, we did it all the time. Bunch of cowards. C'mon you little fuckers, I need to screech and hex and take points._

She reached the study area quickly; only two students were present. _Slytherins;_ _sixth year, maybe; no, seventh - Miss Dashon, she's in here at least three hours a day, she's nearly as studious as I was – a swotty Slytherin; never thought I'd see the day. As for Miss Oak-Moon, I really should thank her for losing all those points from Slytherin last year; even Severus will take points from his own house if the girls spike his morning coffee with Amortensia. I'm sure that was what lost them the House Cup. Poor Severus, she had him on his back before he knew what was happening. Although, the old bat could do with a fucking shag; cheer him up a bit. We all fucking could._

The hushed whispers and giggles grew louder as Hermione stalked around the bookshelves, inspecting the returned books from the day. If one book was out of place, she could rage at Reesy; it wouldn't be Poppin that fucked up, she tended to stay at the enquiries desk, scared of her own shadow never mind the students; Cuppy was usually Hermione's favourite but today that saccharine brand of adorable was just too sickening to bear. No, if there was hell to pay for books out of place then Reesy would pay it. _Ah-ha_,_ Advanced Transfiguration Techniques does not belong in the Potions section._

Hermione snapped her fingers… within the library, each elf had their own call so they didn't have to be verbally called for; Reesy's signal was a snap of the fingers, Cuppy appeared to the sound of an air kiss and Poppin, well a sigh would summon Poppin.

"Y-yes Mistress. How can Reesy h-help you?" The elf said quietly, obviously still intimidated from her scolding earlier.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and said in a seething whisper.

"What is this book doing here?" She waved Advanced Transfiguration Techniques at the elf.

"R-reesy apologises Mistress. This one is being returned with… with three Potions books. Reesy must have picked it up with the others."

Hermione let out an exasperated sigh.

"Reesy how many times have I told you to be more careful with the books? This is a whole library, not a single personal book shelf; students and staff have to be able to find what they're looking for."

"Yes Mistress. Reesy is sorry for the mistake."

"And please take more care with your speech; the first years pick up on your poor sentence structure and muddling up of words. I didn't spend hours on your elocution just for you to…"

A mischievous laugh and a chorus of giggles rang loudly through the air from the direction of the Slytherin girls, cutting Hermione off before she could get into her stride. She spun around to hurry towards the raucous noise but threw back over her shoulder to the elf….

"We're not finished with this, Reesy."

As Hermione reached a corner to turn into the study area, she stopped as she caught what the students were saying.

"_Professor Malfoy is gorgeous. All that blonde hair, I want to grip it as he licks me. I wonder if he's that blond all the way down."_

"_I bet he is." She giggled. "I know what you mean about Professor Malfoy but it's gotta be Snape for me. He's just so… so… stiff. I wanna ride him till his buttons pop off that frock coat from the tension."_

From her place around the corner of the high book cases, Hermione seethed. It was so uncouth, so un-ladylike, so despicable. How could they speak so crudely about Professors? _Gods, they're vile little minds are turning my stomach. The only professor I could've thought about like that was Lupin and he's just… no! No! They're too young to have thoughts like that. If I can't have Malfoy, they've got no chance. Although, he is Slytherin, who knows what goes through the mind of a snake and he could still be a blood-status bigot, hiding his bastard opinions for a quiet life; maybe they do have a chance; more so that I have at any rate, apparently. Bastard fucking Slytherin Twat._

Both girls burst into giggles again; Hermione missed what about but the sound alone was enough to make her snap. She stalked around the corner, wand out and bellowed at the girls…

"SILENCIO"

The giggles died on the girls tongues.

Sensing trouble when her very angry Mistress began casting at students, Reesy popped out of the library and straight to the Headmistress to warn her of possible trouble brewing in the library. Usually, she would have informed Professor Malfoy but given that the librarian's ire was directed at the young Potions Professor, the elf thought better of it.

_Finally. Rant time. No, Hermione, calm down a little. They're students. You'll hex them into oblivion in this mood._

She took a deep breath and considered how to get through to them. _A taste of their own medicine maybe, but first a good talking to… and points; bye-bye chances at the House Cup this year, Slytherin. I am not giving Draco the satisfaction of beating me._

"Miss Dashon. Miss Oak-Moon. This is a place of quiet, of learning, of study; not only has your gossiping and giggling disrupted my work but you are being disrespectful and extremely objectifying of two of the best teachers Hogwarts has ever had. Just because they are both Slytherin alumni, do not think they would forgive such discussions. Professor Snape would turn even paler in disgust if he could hear you which is saying something. As for Professor Malfoy…" Hermione felt bile rise at the thought of him, "he would consider the admiration from teenage girls quite below him. And just for your information Miss Dashon, the blond is not all consuming, that is not genetically possible unless he alters it magically which would lose him my respect for such vanity; Professor Malfoy's hair is lighter because it is has extensive exposure to the sun which bleaches it to the shocking tone of almost white."

The girls looked at each other frowning and back at Hermione.

"Girls, I'm afraid this behaviour is unacceptable in my library and has cost your house 25 points each; I shall also be informing the objects of your drooling that they have been the subject of your gossip. I am very curious as to what their punishments will be. Now, I will release you from enforced silence if you can practice it without a magical assist. Do you agree?"

Both Tempest Dashon and Acantha Oak-Moon looked very annoyed at having lost points just for talking about their professors and a little embarrassed that the subject of their conversation would reach the ears of their fantasy men. Eager to be released from the magical bind on their vocal chords however, they both nodded at the librarian.

"Good. Finite Incantatum."

"Now, not a word out of either of you or that point loss will be trebled and the Headmistress will hear of your gossiping too."

Hermione walked away leaving the two Slytherin students scowling at her back. Just as she reached the restricted section, she heard a very distinct "bitch" come from the table she just left. She turned in a flurry and billow of robes which would have made Snape proud. Wand up, she pointed at the girls and in quick succession, cast two levicorpus spells.

Miss Dashon and Miss Oak-moon were suspended upside-down in the air and shrieks echoed from them as Hermione returned.

"I told you." She shouted. "I told you I wanted silence. This is a library and I am not prepared or willing to accept such disrespectful language in my place of work, my home. Now you will stay there, with your knickers on display and wait until you are the object of gossip and giggles much like you made your Professors such today."

Neither Hermione or the suspended students saw the Headmistress enter the library and head towards the hostile scene. Nor were any of them aware that a disillusioned Draco Malfoy had followed her in.

"Mistress Granger," came the harsh, impatient tone of the Headmistress. "What do you think you're doing?"

Hermione spun around to face her employer.

"These girls Professor were crudely and quite inappropriately discussing Professor Snape and Professor Malfoy in a sexual manner."

"Finite incantatum." Minerva McGonagall cast at the girls.

"Headmistress, they…" Hermione began but was cut off as the Headmistress spoke sternly to to the Slytherin girls.

"Back to your common room Miss Dashon, Miss Oak-Moon. Now!"

The two girls picked themselves up, gathered there things quickly and ran from the library. Once they were gone, Minerva returned her attention to the Gryffindor witch.

"Hermione, I am disappointed in you. Casting at the students is not how we reprimand for disrespectful behaviour. You know this."

"Then perhaps we should. I remember Moody turning Malfoy into a ferret in our fourth year. He was a lot quieter after that."

"That was not Moody as I'm sure you remember. It was a Death Eater. Is that who you would like to take lessons in punishment from?"

"Not necessarily but telling them off and taking house points isn't really a deterrent either, Minerva."

"Hermione, I have never known you to be so confrontational. The elves have been petrified of you today, even Draco has expressed his concerns. What is going on with you?"

"That's none of your business." Hermione ground out as her anger rose.

"Miss Granger, calm your temper."

"No. I've had enough of you bossing me around, enough of the students, enough of the elves and enough of Draco fucking Malfoy. I'm done. I can't deal with this anymore. I'm going to stay with Harry." Angry tears burst from her eyes as she turned to leave.

"Petrificus Totalus." The Headmistress shot directly at her librarians back.

Hermione's body seized, limbs snapping straight and stiff before she fell backwards.

…

**A/N: Well, this has taken me all day to write. I've got myself a lot more in depth with this chapter. Can you believe this was ever going to be a one-shot. Plot keeps blooming in my head and being egged on and encouraged by my very good friend whom I have got to know through this site and facebook. She and I are the Slytherin students (pen names used) who so annoyed Hermione by drooling over our Professors. **

**Please review, I love reviews. The count going up excites me.**

**Snakes forever… Slytherin to win the House Cup!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Scary Librarian (Part 2)

Chapter 4 – Scary Librarian (Part 2)

Minerva quickly cast a cushioning charm under Hermione's falling form and lowered her to the ground. She had known something unfortunate must be happening in the young librarian's life to have kept her absent from staff meals for a week; a thought which was confirmed by Draco Malfoy relaying the information that Ronald Weasley had cheated on her. It seemed strange to the Headmistress that such a thing could make Hermione act so out of character; he'd said that when he left her the previous evening, she was more distraught than ready to annihilate anyone she came into contact with. Granted, the young witch had a temper but to rage at the professors, to turn so cold and taciturn toward the elves, to hex students; something much more severe must be going on.

The Headmistress knew that before being able to get any answers from the petrificus'd witch, she needed to calm her down. If there was a spell or potion working against the witch's nature that would not be so easy. She shot off a patronus to Severus; as the younger Potions Professor seemed to have infuriated the still frozen librarian, it seemed counter-productive to have him present for the imminent interrogation. She knew the semi-retired Potions Master was brewing in the castle for the afternoon and had a feeling she would require his considerable experience and expertise to fathom the mystery of Miss Granger's sudden rampage.

While she waited, Minerva instructed the elves to make themselves scarce; as a breed house-elves were loyal to a fault but enjoyed gossiping even more than serving and no matter what Hermione's explanation or the surrounding circumstances, Hermione was quite sure, the librarian would not want the whole castle to know about it.

Severus arrived quickly and raised his signature eyebrow in question at the unusual summons to the library as he approached the Headmistress; then he spotted the frozen form of Miss Granger and his pale brow furrowed in confusion.

"Will this witch ever manage her life without the call for dramatics?" He drawled with a hint of annoyance.

"I apologise for calling you away from your brewing time, Severus but I believe Miss Granger has been influenced by an unknown magic."

"Yes Minerva. It appears she had been place under a full body bind." His sarcasm was palpable.

"That was my handy work Severus. I'm afraid Miss Granger's predicament is not so easily remedied with something as simple as a 'finite incantatum'."

"No? And what seems to be the problem?"

"Hermione has been experiencing some form of spell induced rage since this morning. She has been quite impertinent with me which should be enough of a clue that she is under a magical influence but even without that her treatment of the students has been much more like your own brand of revulsion, Severus."

Hints of a smirk twitched at one corner of his lip.

"I see. And Miss Granger finally agreeing with me that the students are…"

"Severus, behave yourself. Even if Hermione was beginning to adopt your personal view of teenagers, it would not happen over the course of a week and she would not be jinxing them into being suspended upside down in the library."

"She jinxed them with 'levicorpus'?" His smirk reached fruition and he added a snicker. "There may be hope for this witch yet."

"Don't encourage her, Severus. She can still hear you."

He rolled his eyes.

"So the extent of her rampage consisted of being a little rude to you, which surely in itself is quite the sackable offence." He raised an amused, sarcastic eyebrow. "And jinxing a couple of students. Minerva, I still do not understand why I am here, I do worse than that before breakfast."

"Yes but you are a grumpy old begger and so are given leniency as your personal brand of punishments and chastisements are the only happiness you allow yourself to have. Miss Granger on the other hand, finds happiness, solace and fulfilment in this school, her friends and this library… this haven of knowledge is her personal heaven. Severus, she said she was leaving, going to leave Hogwarts and stay with the Potters. Something is wrong with her Severus. I can feel it."

"Very well Minerva. I have brought a calming draught with me; from your message I assumed someone was in a fit of temper; although, she can't very well take it in this state." He gestured to her Hermione, still bound in Minerva's spell.

"She's unlikely to take it anyway. Did you ever perfect that method you were developing for administering potions directly into the blood stream by wand?"

"I did. It is almost flattering that you remembered that project; it was three years ago."

"I imagine that when Draco took over the first to fourth years of students for you, it was so you could concentrate on your projects more."

"It was, partly. Also, you know how I abhor the youngest of the students. Draco can pay his dues for a few more years with them before he takes on the rest."

Minerva nodded.

"Come on then Severus. Let's get this done. I have a meeting with the Minister before dinner."

Without further discussion, Severus Snape uncorked a bottle of sparkling pale blue potion and dipped the tip of his wand into it, muttered his self-created spell: "sorberum" and the two of them watched as the black wand sucked the liquid into it like a straw.

"That is ingenious Severus. I assume your wand is holding the potion to be administered magically to Hermione."

"It is." He confirmed as he walked toward his magically frozen ex-student.

He placed the tip of his wand to Hermione's throat and whispered another spell: "exsolvio". Again, they both watched as the magic did its job. Hermione's throat glowed with the same soft blue hue of the potion for a few seconds before the light dissipated.

"We should give it a moment to permeate her system. As she is bound by your magic it may take a few seconds longer to take effect."

"Fascinating Severus; I would appreciate that spell very much; the potion I take for my lumbago tastes gods-awful."

"Of course, Minerva. I shall pass on the details to you at the next staff meeting. Poppy has already commandeered its use too."

Minerva gave an appreciative smile for the Hospital Wing Matron.

"I believe that should be enough time Minerva."

"Okay. Thank you Severus." He turned to leave. "Would you mind staying? I believe she is still under the influence of something else and I would value your opinion."

"A chance to determine what has the Gryffindor Princess acting so, as you say, like me? How could I turn down such an opportunity?"

"Thank you Severus" Minerva said, ignoring his tone before turning to Hermione. "Finite Incantatum."

…

Hermione blinked, several times, rolled her shoulders and pulled herself up from the floor.

"Are you quite finished discussing me like I'm not here?" Her tone was even but her face pinched in annoyance.

"Hermione, you have been acting decidedly unlike yourself and we are worried. What could possibly have brought on such a dramatic change in attitude? Reesy was petrified when she came to find me."

"It's just a bad day and a bad mood, Minerva. Nothing to concern yourself with. Honestly, you do so love to meddle; you're worse than Dumbledore ever was."

"I find that highly insulting, Hermione. Albus was a good man but somewhere along the way he became a little too misguided."

"Misguided enough to send Harry to his death? Even Snape agrees with me that he raised Harry like a pig for slaughter."

"That, Miss Granger was a private memory which you do not have permission to retell the details of to others." Severus chimed in.

"Yes well, it's hard not to allow the still dismayed feelings I have, that one, he did it to begin with and two, that I agree with you about anything."

"Understandable, Miss Granger but do try to restrain yourself from divulging such knowledge in future."

"Fine." She huffed. "Grumpy old sod."

"Pot, kettle, black." Snape retorted.

"This is getting us nowhere. I'd like us to retire your office for a little while, Hermione. Our conversation is too likely to be overheard out here; the elves can take care of the library in your absence."

"Whatever!" She sighed with resignation and her shoulders slumped, traipsing toward her office. Severus and Minerva followed, as well as the unseen Professor Malfoy.

…

Once inside and the three of them were seated, Draco watched from his position near the door as Minerva summoned her own elf for a tray of tea, which appeared thirty seconds later with a plate of biscuits too.

_This should be interesting. At least she trusts Minerva and Severus too, if what she's said in the past is true. Gods, I hope this isn't all my fault._

"Now, Miss Granger. The calming draught I administered doesn't seem to be having quite the effect it should; there are several versions I brew, as you know but the soft blue one is for easing irate emotions and alleviating stress." The Potions Master began.

_That's strange. Sev's potions always work right. I don't think I've ever known him make a mistake; not since I've known him; which is my whole life. Could it be how much she drank last night stopping the effects?_

"How do you feel, Hermione?" Minerva wanted to know.

Hermione was taking deep breaths as Draco and the others watched. He could almost see her brain trying to decipher exactly what was happening to her whilst fighting whatever else was going on in her system.

"I feel very angry, I'm crackling with it, it's in my magic, in my veins. I was in a bad mood this morning anyway, hungover and hormonal with my impending cycle; not to mention still being livid with…" She stopped and clamped a hand over her mouth. It seemed she didn't want to spill the details of her little impromptu show of wantonness.

"Hungover?"

"Typical you focus on that part. Yes Minerva, hungover! My ten year relationship with Ronald fell apart last weekend and I felt like drowning my sorrows for a few days. Hence why I have been missing staff meals, my dinner has mainly consisted of vodka and I chose not to make that obvious to the students."

"Are you the castle's new lush, Miss Granger? Are you replacing Sybil Trelawney as the resident alcoholic?" asked Severus, his amusement sparkling in the inky depths of his black eyes. Draco shook his head and smirked at his mentor's sarcasm.

"Of course not, you dunderhead." She gave her former Professor a mean little how-do-you-like-it smile. "I just wasn't quite ready to deal with the emotional shit-storm that came with such an impactful break up. It essentially divides the Golden Trio, Godric knows how this is all going to play out; Harry didn't know which side to take; Ginny isn't talking to me; Molly was sending me owls and patronus messages every hour until I warded my quarters to keep them out. Rita fucking Skeeter is going to have a field day with all this and I really can't bear to give the loathsome bitch the satisfaction. I just needed a few days to not think before I have to start planning and implementing damage control. All I ever do is think, it's exhausting."

"Hermione, sweetheart, you do not have to deal with any of this alone. Why didn't you come to me when all this happened? I'd have been happy to help."

"Miss Granger, before you answer the Headmistress, I am curious about something… you said you awoke with a hangover?"

Hermione nodded.

"I see no evidence of physical discomfort now. Has it dissipated or did you rely upon a potion to cure your heavy head?"

Draco watched as Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes.

_That's true. She isn't showing signs of a headache or anything. She did say she barely gets drunk at all, maybe that includes the worst effects of a hangover. Surely she couldn't have been serious when she kissed me though? She'd never do that in her right mind, not after everything that's happened. _

"It's barely three o'clock Professor. I may be brilliant but even I can't kill off a hangover in four hours without a magical assist."

_Oh she's for it. Sassing Sev is never a good idea._

Draco couldn't see Snape's sneer but he could tell it was there.

"I see. And tell me… how old was this potion Miss Granger?

_Expired potion? But my ingredients were fresh._

"I ordered a new batch from Draco as soon as I returned to the castle at the weekend. I only had one left and given my plans to practically blot out the sun via consumption I figured it would be a good time to be prepared."

_Fuck! _

"How many potions did Draco send you?"

"Where are you going with this, Severus?"

"You'll see in a minute, Minerva." He turned back to the Hermione. "Miss Granger?"

"Four, I think. Why?"

_And it's Friday. Shit!_

"Because Miss Granger, if you received four potions on Sunday, your first hangover would have been on Monday morning, correct?"

"Yes. Why does that make a difference?"

"Today is Friday Miss Granger; the fifth morning of your planned drunken stupor. I believe you ingested your older potion this morning and if it is the hangover cure I believe it to be, and as you know I am hardly ever wrong, then when two of the ingredients in that potion expire; their effects would explain your current state of barely controlled ire."

"It was a purple potion I took this morning with silver clinging to the inside of the phial. It's been sitting in my top drawer for a while. Maybe a couple of months."

_Dammit, I gave her that batch too. Did I not label it with the expiry date? I always label them, and she's a stickler for things like that. How did this happen?_

"That would be the one, Miss Granger. The silver clinging to the phial is the indication that it has separated from the other components and therefore the potion is no longer completely efficient. The second ingredient to, for the want of a better word, malfunction, is Hopesroot. As it deteriorates within the blend, its usual effect of warding of ill-feelings is diminished. In a potion which is any more than a month out of date, hope fades; you are effectively trapped in your own bad mood."

"Oh dear." Minerva added unhelpfully.

Hermione crossed her arms and scowled.

Draco felt his heart sink. Realising if he was even partially responsible for her bad mood, which he was starting to suspect he might be; and he supplied her with the potion, which he did, then this whole fiasco was his fault.

"Is there an antidote Severus?" The Headmistress asked.

He looked at Hermione with an almost sympathetic look, very unlike him, as if he knew what was coming.

"There is one way I know of to alleviate the symptoms but it is not an ingredient."

"I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Probably not, Miss Granger. Essentially, you have been poisoned by your own emotions, and as the poison is emotional, so too is the remedy."

"I don't understand" Hermione said, possibly for the first time in her life.

"Finally, after eighteen years, I have stumped the know-it-all."

Hermione scowled.

"Took you long enough." She replied bitterly.

"I am going to enjoy this immensely Miss Granger…"

"Severus, behave." Minerva admonished.

"Very well, but I will still enjoy it. In order to counteract the poisoning, you must admit the cause of your bad mood and embrace, rather than fight the feelings which are at its epicentre."

_Oh shit._

"So, I have to have a breakdown in order to stop myself from wanting to kill everyone I see?"

"That would be the simplest definition, yes."

"Can't I just kill everyone? Please?" she whined. The first chink in her anger as acceptance of the inevitable started to sink in. "I promise to make it quick and I promise to start with Draco bloody Malfoy."

"That is the second time you have mentioned Draco with venom, Hermione. Is he the root of this bad mood?"

"No! Of course not. I just thought he was a friend, maybe a little more than a friend. He decided to prove otherwise last night."

Severus and Minerva wore identical looks of surprise. Each had considered Hermione and Draco may have feelings for each other over the last few years but as Hermione was so ensconced in her relationship with Ronald Weasley, they assumed nothing would come of it.

_She was serious? Oh fuck! This really is entirely my fault. She really did want to start something? I should've known; since when does Hermione Granger do anything she doesn't want to do? I can't believe this, I'm such an idiot. Finally, finally she finishes with that ginger twat and wants me and I fuck it up._

"Ok, well there is clearly some feeling between you and Draco, Hermione. Otherwise he would not be claiming such a large percentage of your potion-induced rage."

Hermione huffed.

"Fine. There was a bit of a crush. Back at school. Third year it started, when I… well, when I hit him. His face went so red with embarrassment and as angry as I was with him, it was adorable to me when he put his hand to his jaw where I'd caught him. He was practically in tears when he ran off and I got a very satisfied smile and walked off practically swooning."

"How touching." Snape interjected.

Draco cringed.

"That hardly seems worthy of your current annoyance with him, Hermione. I'm assuming those pangs of youthful infatuation did not wither and die as so many are prone to do?"

"No Minerva, they really didn't. I supressed it all of course, around Harry and Ron and especially during the war but it never truly went away. I'd catch myself looking at him in the Great Hall or when we were in Hogsmeade. I have approximately thirty diaries filled with girlish yearnings and undisclosed desires; he was hardly an appropriate candidate for the Gryffindor Princess to fall in love with and so I had to keep it to myself. Even now, those diaries are warded to within an inch of their lives at Gringotts."

_She's… she's in… no, no she can't be. It's not possible._

"Are you telling us, Hermione, that you are in love with Draco Malfoy?"

Hermione clapped a hand to her mouth realising what she'd said. It had escaped her so easily, the secret she had kept hidden for so long, from everybody. Her face took on a scarlet hue and Draco watched and listened intently.

"Would this be the reason your relationship with Mr Weasley ended in such a fiasco, Miss Granger?"

"Don't make things worse, Severus. The girl is clearly quite distressed." Minerva chastised.

"Yes, Snape. My feelings for Draco would be the reason that Ron and I decided our relationship had become something akin to only going through the motions. He told me last Friday evening that he knew about my feelings for Draco; that he'd known for a long time; that he'd 'accidentally' seen one of my diaries in our sixth year. Apparently he believed I would get over it, although it is the reason he was snogging that trollop, Lavender Brown for half of sixth year. It seems when the war began, he assumed my hatred for Death Eaters would vanquish any childhood crush I had on 'the ferret'; his words not mine. He was wrong of course. We fought for most of the weekend until I packed up my stuff and left. He was right too, of course; even when Ron and I first got together; ironically on the day of the Battle of Hogwarts, I just couldn't not want Draco and that moment in the Room of Requirement, with the fiendfyre, that was when I knew I really loved him. Despite everything he'd said and done, no matter what the future held for any of us, I knew I could never find happiness in a world where he didn't survive. So, we saved him; I made Harry and Ron help me save him. Sometime in the early hours of Saturday morning, Ron told me he never forgave me for that; it was the moment he knew too… that a part of me would always want the snake over the lion. He stayed with me to spite me for my feelings."

Snape was silent as he watched Hermione's tears fall. McGonagall stood and walked around to hug the emotionally bereft witch.

Draco was in a state of shock so profound, he was catatonic. Fifteen years and he never knew of her feeling. He'd joked around and assumed a little sexual tension occasionally but other than flirtatious banter under their unlikely friendship, she had kept him completely in the dark.

_I was looking; I was looking for that break in your relationship, Hermione. Why didn't you tell me? Gods we could've been so happy, for years. I need to fix this… I need to tell her I love…_

"It doesn't matter now anyway." Hermione's voice broke through his silent musings. "He doesn't want me. I tried to tell him, to show him, last night… he, he…"

A fresh wave of tears burst from her as he watched her crumble, watched the heartbreak he had caused; and every tear that fell matched by a guilty twist in his stomach. _I've broken Hermione Granger. Oh fuck!_

"He rejected me." She wiped at her eyes and sniffled. "After everything I've done for him; the deal I made you, Severus for his position here, the contract to keep him from a marriage to that gods-awful gold-digger Astoria fucking Greengrass; I was even the one who kept him out of Azkaban. And I know I'm not beautiful but I think I've grown up to look at least a little pretty in the right light, and the right dress. We're well-matched in intelligence and humour. I can't think of any reason he wouldn't want to at least try, unless… I really thought he was over the blood purity thing but it has to be that. There's nothing else to stop him."

More tears escaped in a fresh wave of despair.

"He doesn't think I'm good enough. I've worked so hard to fit into the magical world and once I fell for Draco, it was all for him. So he'd realise I was good enough for him. And I did it all for nothing. He just, he doesn't want me."

"Oh sweetheart." Minerva said, hugging Hermione tighter. "I don't think he still has those feelings. You two have become such good friends. He wouldn't have been willing to do so as a child, remember?"

Hermione nodded.

"And as for unrequited love, I am sure Severus here knows exactly how you feel as he has also felt the seemingly impossible divide of a Gryffindor/Slytherin match."

Snape cleared his throat and stood.

"I shall take my leave now if you don't mind, Minerva? It seems the potion effects have released their hold and you are much better equipped to deal with an emotional, heartbroken witch."

"Thank you, Severus." Hermione whispered.

"Oh fine, Severus." Minerva said before turning back to her crying librarian. "Go be an emotionally stunted _man_ elsewhere."

"Just so you are aware, Miss Granger; I can personally assure you that Draco no longer holds the beliefs with which you judge him; if in fact he ever did. Do not condemn the son for the sins of the father."

"Thank you, Severus." Minerva said appreciatively without looking up.

"I shall see you both at dinner and Miss Granger, I shall bring you a fresh calming draught."

Before Hermione had chance to look up, he was gone from the room in his trademark billow of robes. Neither witch noticing that he grabbed something solid, six feet tall and invisible as he left.

…

**A/N: This is as updated as Owe You is going to get for a few days as I want to focus on some other fics but I would like to say thank you to my good friend and fellow Slytherin Miss Tempest Dashon for helping me choose between two cliffhangers. This is the slightly less dramatic one.**

**REVIEWS, REVIEWS AND MORE REVIEWS PLEASE. They make me write more. I'm not just after a review count, the encouragement really does help me write more.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Heart of a Slytherin

Chapter 5 – Heart of a Slytherin

Draco was dragged very sharply toward the dungeons and practically thrown into the older wizard's office once they reached it.

"Are you insane, Draco? If either of those witches had caught you skulking and eavesdropping they would hex you into next week." The dour Potions Master bellowed.

"Sev, I had to know what was going on with her. She tried to kiss me last night. Me. How was I supposed to know it was actually fuelled by feelings and not the three bottles of firewhiskey we'd put away?"

"Be that as it may, you are extremely lucky that I was the only one who sensed your presence and that I am the only one who saw the haza of your disillusionment charm. With the mood Miss Granger was in you may have lost the Malfoy family jewels." He said smirking, and Draco cringed. "In answer to your question about Miss Granger, you should have known because…" Snape softened his tone, sounding much more sympathetic. "…she is Hermione Granger. Have you ever known that witch to do or say anything that her mind did not expressly want her to or say? She is the heart-on-her-sleeve type who saves everyone the time of trying to figure her out by putting it all up front."

"Well she wasn't very upfront about her feelings for me now, was she? Apparently she's hidden and supressed those for years. Gods, Sev, how could I not have seen it?"

"You did not see it, Draco, because you you didn't want to see it, you were too blinded by the bigotry of your father. Lucius is intimidating man and as I can recognise from my own experiences, an overbearing father; his views were foisted upon you from the very beginning and I can imagine you had no choice but to accept and adopt them as your own. Which, if you recall is what I just informed Miss Granger. Tell me, did you truly think so little of Miss Granger for those first few years or were you mirroring and parroting what you had heard from Lucius?"

Draco looked down to his lap, his hands sitting there, playing with his wand.

"I shall take your silence as a reflection of the latter."

Draco nodded.

"Draco, look at me."

Draco looked into the eyes of his Godfather with a sheepish, chastised look on his face.

"I'm not sure how well you know the story of my childhood, my own love for a Gryffindor muggle-born with. Are you familiar with the story?"

"A little. Sev, you don't have to tell me. I get it."

"I really don't think you do. Lily Evans, was the only light in my terrible existence from the age of nine. She showed me her accidental magic when we met by chance and I was infatuated in seconds, even at that age… her blood status meant nothing to me, I am a half blood myself and as much as despise my father, the reasons were not because he was a muggle, at least not directly. When I was sorted into Slytherin and her into Gryffindor, the divide was set even though we ignored it and fought it for years. In our fifth year, she was spending a lot of time with Potter's father, Lupin and Black; I was… jealous."

"Wait. Lily Evans is… is… Lily Potter? I never made the connection."

"Yes." Severus ground out. "She started dating Potter and I let my jealousy get the better of me. Your father had been going on about blood purity for years and calling Lily a mudblood. I ignored it most of the time; I was never going to change his opinions but I was unable to control my bile for Potter and his gang of misfits. She confronted me once about my associations with the Dark Arts, about retaliating to Potter's teasing, goading and even bullying of me. That she was defending him broke my heart and piqued my jealousy. I snapped. I called her a mudblood." He paused to relive his regret once more.

"She never forgave me. One slip and I was too tarnished by darkness and the curse of hatred the all Slytherin's received, still receive. She barely looked at me after that; that was what truly threw me into the clutches of the Dark Lord. I buried my feelings and was recruited, by your father, to the Death Eaters. There is more that follows but the point I am trying to make is that Miss Granger has already surpassed Lily Evans in both compassion and forgiveness. Not only has she chosen to love you, she has done so in spite of your history, perhaps in part because of it. Draco, the woman has known you since you were eleven, she has seen the best and the worst of you and she accepts it all and loves you all the more for it. Do you have any idea what a rare gift she has given you? The heart of a Gryffindor, especially that Gryffindor, for you is priceless."

"How do I…? Sev, I don't know how to get her to forgive me for this. You saw her, she was completely broken by my rejection and it wasn't even a rejection, just a postponement."

"Do you love her, Draco?"

He closed his eyes as if admitting so cost him something precious, like all his pride; and nodded.

"Since the first time I saw her on the Hogwarts Express; before we even started school. She was helping Longbottom look for that blasted toad of his; her hair was completely insane back then, remember?"

Snape nodded with a small smile.

"She just bounded up to me, all smiles and energy; she seemed so wild. Her excitement over everything had her practically exploding with glee. I've never had that kind of excitement over anything or even the freedom to have that kind of excitement; maybe flying came close but father always said flying for the sake of it was frivolous unless I was trying out for the National Racing Team. It was… she was… amazing."

"You envied her?"

"Yes. She just had the freedom to please herself; I hadn't even spoken to her and I was fixated by all that hair and the way she was friendly with everyone but a little bit haughty too, like my mother, she knew she was magically talented and wasn't afraid to show off about it. Right in front of me, she cast a tracking spell to help find Longbottom's toad; how did she know how to do that without any classes? We didn't learn tracking spells until fourth year and she knew how before school even started. It made me hope she might be in Slytherin, but that was before I knew she was muggle-born."

"A tracking spell pre-Hogwarts is rather impressive. I can tell you however; I have learned from my own eavesdropping that Miss Granger had purchased and memorised at least the first five years' worth of school textbooks before your first encounter with her. So you are not fault for being awed by the little swot. In different ways we all were; least of all myself, of course."

"Always so conservative with your praise, Godfather."

"A lack of praise helps motivate students to work harder for it, not that Miss Granger needed such motivation, she practically begged for it in every lesson; sometimes she nigh on demanded it."

"Isn't she just wonderful?" Draco responded with a dreamy look on his face.

"Your father would slap that stupid look off your face if he could see you now."

"You have to admit she's gorgeous, Sev. Every time I see her, it's all I can do just to control my libido… and when she says my name… God's Sev, I'm willing to fall at her feet."

"Why have you never declared yourself to her? Surely you did not consider Mr Weasley a true rival?"

"No, of course not. Well, not really. They had all that friendship and comradery to fall back on from school, they fought a war together. My own history with her is hardly stellar, not to mention what she went through at the Manor. She swears to me it's all forgiven but I honestly never thought I stood a chance and apart from a little flirting, she never really showed any interest."

"Tell me how you felt once you found out she was muggle-born."

"I really don't want to talk about this, Sev. It's hurts to admit."

"Yes but you are a better man now and your feelings are entirely synchronised with the general population regarding muggle-borns so there is no reason for you to feel ashamed about your past as you have evolved beyond it."

"The truth is I didn't really know what to feel. I still liked her but what I'd been taught at home warred with my personal feelings. I wanted to be her friend but she was already in Gryffindor being taught to hate and not trust Slytherins. I tried to talk to her one day; it was during our first flying lesson when Potter got picked to be seeker. She called me a snotty spoiled brat and it felt like I'd lost her forever; that was the first time I said it. The first time I called her a mudblood. I was hurt by what she said, I wanted to hurt her for thinking such things about me but I didn't mean it, not really. I was just upset."

"I can relate."

Draco nodded.

"Did you try to apologise?"

"Not at the time. She threw me dirty looks every time I saw her after that. I didn't know how to admit it but I felt so ashamed. It was like that one stupid word had pushed her right into the clutches of Potter and Weasley. She became the Gryffindor sweetheart; protected and admired for her brains; giving Gryffindor a much needed injection of IQ. By then I had no chance."

"But you didn't even try? You gave up something you wanted to Gryffindors?"

"I was trying to get over it. Father was never stopped droning on about my education and how I needed to best in class. How Malfoys were always the best, always succeeded. I had to contend with trying to best her in class, not that it ever worked. I started to resent her for always beating me at everything and pushed the feelings that admired her for it aside. She actually hit me once, did you know?"

"The first I heard about that was today, Draco. I assure you, had I known, points and detentions would have been issued; even a request for her expulsion, although I know how that would have been met."

"See what I mean, Gryffindor Princess, even then. Untouchable."

"Yes. But the question remains why you didn't report her attack."

"I was embarrassed."

"And yet, it seems that is when her feelings for you began. At least the romantic feelings."

"I still can't believe she said she's in love with me. It feels more like a dream than reality but it doesn't even matter now. I fucked it all last night and now she's going to hate me forever."

"Don't be so dramatic, Draco. She has clearly forgiven you for a lot worse. That girl has given her heart to you; the worst you've done with last night's little encounter is to bruise it a little but it is far from broken. Her ego on the other hand, you have likely shattered to smithereens."

Draco looked crestfallen at such a thing.

"Fear not, as with any Gryffindor, ego grows back remarkably quickly. Why didn't you take her up on her offer last night anyway? It seems it was all your hopes and dreams presented for you in a bright red and shiny gold bow."

"She was drunk; we both were. I didn't want to take advantage. I wanted to be the good guy for a change, for her. I told her as much; that I'd love for us to continue when we were both more 'with it' but I think she'd deflated at my resisting by then and it seems thought the worst of me, as usual."

"Well, well. Draco, I do believe that you truly are in love with her. Wanting to be a better man for the woman you love is something that defines maturity and the love itself. She may not have seen your desire for her last night but Miss Granger is acting on her pain right now; when she returns to her logic, she is much more likely to come to you."

"I can't wait until she sorts out her feelings and returns to making logical decision, not that being with me is particularly logical for her; now I know how she feels I need to talk to her. I need to make her see she's the most amazing, beautiful, intelligent witch I could ever imagine. She surpasses every fantasy, every dream… no one compares."

"Yes, thank you for that summary, Draco. She will not willingly accept you with how she feels at the moment; she is hurt and betrayed and I imagine you are the last person she wants to see but there are ways in which we can dissolve her hurt and bring her around without confronting her directly. She fell for a Slytherin, Draco, so use a Slytherin approach."

Draco got a rather sly grin on his face.

"What do you have in mind?"


	6. Chapter 6 - Comedy of Correspndence

**A/N: I am so sorry for making everyone wait so long for this. I have had so much on and then I went back to a very Sevione state of mind but my dramione's are back and I will endeavour to make them worthy. Hope you enjoy the craziness of this one.**

* * *

Chapter 6 – Comedy of Correspondence

_The next morning…_

Draco lay in bed, sleep deprived, rolling over the same thoughts he had been having since he left his Godfather's office seven hours earlier…

_Severus' plan cannot possibly work; he must be going senile in his old age; she'd never forgive me. What I've done already is bad enough and it's the closest thing to a miracle I'm ever going to see in my lifetime that she's forgiven me for the past. If I do what Sev suggested, if I use my father, she'll bypass hexing me, she probably won't even hit me, she'll just move right along to fucking killing me. Do I have another choice though? Just talking to her is impossible, there's no way she took that gingering-ward down. Maybe if I write to mother, she'll know what to do. I should write to father too, just in case I need to soften him up to play along with this ridiculous scheme._

After showering, dressing and spending an hour on his hair, Draco sat at the desk in his personal quarters, finest quill in hand and parchment poised to send missives to his parents…

_Dear Mother,_

_I know it has been too long since I've written but as I am sure you can imagine, lesson plans, classes, students and staff keep me very busy. I can almost see you rolling your eyes, mother. I know you still disapprove of my becoming a Professor but Sev needed my help and I really enjoy my life at the castle now. I'm safe, respected and I have friends – given my history I never thought I'd be so lucky. _

_That brings me to an issue I'm having with the school librarian. It seems that last week she broke up with the Weasel and has been drinking herself into oblivion every night ever since, using my hangover potions each morning to be presentable during the day. Well, she used an out of date one and went on a bit of a Slytherin-style rampage; if her ire wasn't fuelled by something I did, I would have been quite proud of her. The thing is, it was her birthday on Friday, we had a few drinks and she ended up trying to kiss me. I was in complete shock; it still feels like a miracle she's forgiven me for our own school days but to want to… well, given her inebriated state (which she denies being in), I chose to decline. Not that I wouldn't want to be with her, she's amazing and you know I've thought so for years, but she was upset and intoxicated; I thought she would respect me not taking advantage of her when she was thinking more clearly. _

_It seems though that she has secretly reciprocated my feelings for a very long time, since third year long time and she took the whole thing as a rejection and now she isn't talking to me at all. Sev has a plan for me to win her over but I don't see how it could possibly work; he seems to think that if I rescue her from father's clutches, that she would fall into my arms and be grateful. He said, and I quote 'She fell for a Slytherin, Draco, so use a Slytherin approach'. Is that too crazy? The idea is to invite her to father's 50__th__ birthday party, have him make some clumsy, drunken pass at her before I find them both, hex father and kiss her on the spot; let an argument ensue as I defend her, let my feelings 'slip out' so she hears that I love her and hope that she falls for it._

_My problem with this plan is that I think she'll see it coming. She already winds me up about father, she told me and it makes me feel ill to repeat it, even though she was joking, that she got me out of my betrothal contract with Astoria by performing something sexual on dad to persuade him to override the magic of it. I won't go into details, it's laughable really and if I thought I could get away with this scheme, I'd do it just to teach her a lesson for giving me nightmares about what she said. What do you think, mother? Could it work? I know you've seen her at charity events and become somewhat more acquainted. Please write back soon, I'm in hell._

_Yours_

_Draco_

With his first letter written, he folded, sealed and addressed the parchment to his mother before preparing a second for the letter to his father. Just as he was about begin, his stomach growled, loudly. He knew his stomach would not be denied, not since the war when fear had stopped him from eating more than once a day, and so with a resigned sigh, he replaced his designer quill back in its box, sent the letter to his mother with his personal owl – Mac (short for Machiavelli) and hoped that given the early hour, he would not see any of his colleagues, headed to the Great Hall.

* * *

Hermione took the letter from the leg of a beautiful eagle owl as it landed on the desk of her private study; the study was one of only two of her private rooms that had a window for owl post, the other being her bedroom. She had chosen to forgo breakfast in the Great Hall again this morning… the last couple of days had been hideously embarrassing and she was taking this last day to steel her resolve before returning to the hustle and bustle of her usual routine. It would take more than a break up with Ronald bloody Weasley and a rejection from Draco bastard fucking twat-face Malfoy to slow her down for much more than a week. Neither of them deserved the satisfaction of bringing her equilibrium completely off-kilter for longer than they already had; so what if she loved them, _had loved them_, in the case of Ron, she reminded herself. It was time to move on; one more day to wallow and then… _fuck it!_ She turned the letter over in her hands to check the seal.

_Malfoy – typical! What does he want now?_ _Bloody coward; can't even face me, has to send an owl._

Breaking the seal of black wax decorated with a large capital M surrounded by a snake, Hermione unfolded the letter and began to read…

_Dear Miss Granger,_

_I hope this letter finds you well. My darling Draco informed me of your unfortunate circumstances in regards to the youngest Mr Weasley and I wish to express my condolences for the breakdown of your relationship. First love is always the hardest to get over and after all you went through together you deserve better than what you received. My sentiments, I am sure, seem unusual given our past but I assure you they are genuine. Lucius has been a difficult man to be married to over the years, as I am sure you can imagine, but we thankfully found ways to move forward – I understand that cannot be the case for you; Draco explained the motivations behind Mr Weasley's treatment of you. I know you must have very mixed feelings about Lucius, Draco and I considering our battles and misunderstandings of the past, to put in lightly, but I find it highly refreshing that you have managed to put that aside and care for my sweet boy enough to look after him when the cap to his magic has proved to be a disadvantage._

_Lucius and I are choosing to not comment on your feelings for Draco, or indeed his feelings for you; you are old enough to know your own minds, experienced enough to know your own hearts and both have the intelligence to make responsible decisions. The only thing I wish to mention on this topic is that if you and Draco did decide to become more than the friends I know you are, you may rest assured that Lucius and I will have no reservations or concerns about such a match in regards to your blood status. You alone have proven to us that there is absolutely no difference in the magic that flows through a muggleborn to the magic that flows through a pureblood, or any blood status in-between._

_Now, I really should approach the reason I am writing to you in the first place; as you know Lucius was released from Azkaban a little over sixth months ago and is finally beginning to resemble his old self in confidence… and, yes, indeed arrogance. Don't worry; I'm keeping him on a short leash. I am not sure if you are aware but it will be his fiftieth birthday 30__th__ September and I have finally convinced him to have a party. Draco will be in attendance of course and I know he had planned to invite you but he said in his letter to me this morning that you two may be in the middle of a disagreement. I would therefore like to invite you to attend of your own volition rather than as Draco's 'date'. If the two of you are friends again by the time the party comes around, we would of course love to see you attend on the arm of our gorgeous boy._

_Yours truly,_

_Narcissa Malfoy_

Hermione took a deep breath and re-read the letter several times, focusing solely on the part that expressed Draco's feelings. She had forgiven all of the Malfoys for their parts in the war; Draco especially but Narcissa had saved Harry on that fateful day in the forest and Lucius had served his time; they all deserved another chance. Hermione just wished they would let sleeping dogs lie and stop bringing it up. She understood, or at least hoped that it was born out of guilt but the way the two older Malfoys apologised every time she saw them, it was like they expected her to have changed her mind about forgiving them. For Narcissa to mention something so personal as Draco's feelings though, he must have said something; Hermione felt the need to slap him just for bringing her personal feelings to his parents of all people; Severus would be bad enough. Of course if Draco did have feelings for her, it could only be a good thing; an unlikely, but good thing.

_Well, time to fight fire with fire… if he wants to be all Gryffindor and noble, not take advantage indeed, then I'm going to play Slytherin. That party is going to be the event of the year and I need a date, a date that will get up Draco's perfect nose. Hmmm… Harry? No, he's probably going anyway with Ginny. _

Hermione mentally ran through all of her friends before, after twenty minutes of despairing, it hit her like a freight train; there was only one person she could ask to such an event and it would be completely perfect to show up on his arm. She just needed to get him to agree…

With her decision made, she replied to Narcissa.

_Dear Mrs Malfoy,_

_Thank you so much for your letter and your kind words, I have told you before that you need not keep apologising for the past. It is water under the bridge, you, Lucius and Draco are all completely forgiven for every word, action and thought against me, Harry and Ron. I implore you not to bring it up again. You are forgiven and I would like to think that we have moved passed such unpleasantness. With that in mind, I would be delighted to attend Lucius' party. _

_As my annoyance and upset over Draco's latest faux pas is still very fresh, I will not be attending on his arm but I would like to bring someone else if that is acceptable. I promise it is someone you would approve of - a Slytherin, in fact, if that helps put your mind at ease. I'm smiling as I imagine your face at these words, my first smile in over a week, so thank you for that._

_I hope Lucius is enjoying his freedom and it is wonderful news that he has started adjusting to life at home again; it must be a relief for him to be working again too, he doesn't strike me as the type of man to enjoy sitting idle. Good luck with the return of his arrogance though; that was always the part of him that annoyed me more than anything else._

_Take care of yourself_

_Hermione Granger_

Hermione sealed the short response to Narcissa before heading to the bathroom to shower and get ready. She had a Potions Master to invite to a party and she needed to look her best.

* * *

Draco returned to his quarters, thankful for his full stomach and that only Minerva, Severus and a bunch of fifth year Ravenclaw's had been at breakfast. Conversation had been kept light and no-one mentioned the events of yesterday, or Hermione – thank Merlin. Severus had agreed to cover Draco's classes the day after Lucius's party, so that he, Draco, could spend the night at the Manor and not worry about dealing with students as well. Of course, Severus would be attending too but the old potions master was not a heavy drinker and was likely to retire quite early, not being one for crowds either.

To his surprise, Mac was waiting with a reply from his mother when Draco returned. The Malfoy owls had been charmed to fly quickly when delivering missives between the family and Draco was very pleased about that at this moment as he was desperate for his mother's response to his dilemma.

_My darling boy,_

_I think Severus's plan is ingenious. I am sure Miss Granger worries over your trustworthiness and reflects, despite her willingness to forgive that given your house and your past, you are likely to hurt her. I believe that is why when you did not act as she expected during her romantic advances, she was all the more shocked and lashed out. That being said, I have written to Miss Granger and invited her to your father's 50__th__ birthday, expressing a wish to see her on your arm._

_I have spoken to your father and he agrees that the plan is fool-proof. If you feel she is beginning to catch on, remind her of how much your father has changed his opinion of her and believes her acquaintance is 'good for the family' from a political and reputation standpoint. I am sure that is something she can believe, considering it is true, although not our current motivation. Ask her to the party as your earliest convenience, sweetheart. I promise we will help you get what you want._

_All my love_

_Mother_

The fact that his parents were both behind this plan made Draco's stomach knot and churn nervously. His father had revealed, around the time the betrothal contract was squashed, in a drunken stupor, 'for a mudblood, Granger is rather fuckable'.

_Well, it's too late to go back now. Dad just wants the excuse to stick his tongue down her throat and grab her arse. _He shuddered at the thought. _This is going to be a disaster. She's going to kill me, possibly kill my dad too, and Sev. If anyone could take all three of us out in a matter of seconds, it's her._

"Well," he said to Mac, "I suppose I should let Sev know."

Using the sheet of parchment he had planned to use in writing to his father, Draco scrawled a quick note to his Godfather confirming the plan was to go ahead and he had informed his parents of the details.

* * *

Hoping for the best but prepared for the worst, Hermione descended the stairs that led to the dungeons. She had put her hair up in a tight bun, allowing only a few curly tendrils to escape and frame her face; she had worn a black wrap-around dress with a plethora of buttons running down the left side from the slight low-cut bodice to the knee length hem, and decorated her eyes with a moss green shadow and a silver highlight, the epitome of a Slytherin queen… if she was going to coerce the dour dungeon bat to be her date, she had to play this as cunningly as he would.

She knocked on the door to his chamber and held her breath.

* * *

Severus had returned from breakfast feeling only slightly put out and having to deal with two groups of second years and a third year class at the end of the month to help Draco out. He didn't mind the fourth year class of Slytherins and Ravenclaws but all the others he had taken on for his godson included either Gryffindors or Hufflepuffs and while he wasn't nearly as uptight about the other houses as he used to be, it was still a thorn in his side to deal with the younger, more excitable students of the less studious houses.

He sat in his hunter green leather, wingback chair, summoned a house elf for tea and opened the freshly delivered _Potioneer Monthly_ magazine for a quiet browse before planning to mark the sixth year essays later in the morning. He was halfway through the second article _'Magical Monkshood' _when the floo from the other side of his living room flushed with purple flame and a parchment aeroplane shot from the fire and darted toward him. Emerald flames were for flooing people, purple flames were for internal mail.

Severus captured the projectile correspondence and unfolded it.

_Hey Sev,_

_Thought I should let you know, my parents are up-to-date with the plan and love the idea. I still think it's ridiculous but you know father has that weird thing for Hermione… like she'd be some sort of prize. I curse the day I found out about their open marriage – ugh! If you really think this will work then I'm in – I trust you. Just help me get the girl… please._

_D_

Severus stared at Draco's note for a moment, he wasn't aware his godson even knew about the open marriage of Lucius and Narcissa, he doubted the boy knew that he himself had, on occasion enjoyed the pleasures of Lord and Lady Malfoy. Perhaps that should remain locked in the vault of secrets he never planned to reveal. At least they were all on board with plan… that made things easier. He, of course knew that Lucius would be up for anything involving the Gryffindor Princess whom had saved him, at Severus's request from the dementors kiss, that little deal to have her at his back and call for ten years was very, very useful.

_Knock, knock._

Only a member of the staff could knock the door to his private quarters without upsetting the wards so Severus padded, barefoot, letter still in hand and black shirt slightly open at the collar to the door. When he opened it, his mouth dropped…

The woman whom was captivating the thoughts of so many Slytherins right now was standing before him, looking stunning… his house colours decorating her eyes (something he thought he would never see), a dress reminiscent of his own frock coat, all be in shorter and clinging to rather beautiful feminine curves and a half smile curving soft pink lips.

Severus cleared his throat.

"Miss Granger, what can I do for you? I hope you're feeling better after yesterday's potion mishap." He asked cordially. Very unlike himself.

"Oh yes, Severus. I feel 100% better. And, I've told you to stop calling me 'Miss Granger, it makes me feel fifteen again."

"Just this once then… _Hermione_. Do not tell anyone." He winked.

She laughed. A beautiful, tinkling sound which Severus had never noticed before sounded very sweet.

"One day, Severus, I promise I'm going to break through that hard shell of yours and…"

"Is that dress of yours an attempt to do so?"

Hermione looked down at herself with a smile before returning her gaze to his face.

"Oh, do you like it. I thought I'd take after your fashion sense for the day. What do you think?" she asked giving him a twirl.

"What are you up to, Miss Granger? Flirting with me seems entirely out of character for you, I thought your interests lay with the younger potions master."

"Oh, they do; but he and I are clearly not on the same page at that moment, if you'll pardon a bibliophile's pun. The truth is that I have been invited to Lucius Malfoy's 50th; I have promised to attend as I've grown to quite like Narcissa and I'm curious to see how Lucius is recuperating since his release."

"That is a very Gryffindor reason to attend but what does that have to do with me."

"What else would you expect from the _Gryffindor Princess_?" She inflected the irksome moniker to show her displeasure for it.

"I suppose you have a point there. I could not expect the Gryffindor Princess to act any way other than as a Gryffindor but that still does not explain how I factor into your plans for Lucius's party."

"Well, the thing is…" she took a deep breath, steeling herself. "The thing is, I need a date."

Severus didn't speak for several moments, attempting to read her face for signs that she was joking. It was extremely implausible that she was serious; _perhaps_, he though, _I misheard her, or misunderstood. Ever since that damn snake bite, my hearing isn't what it was._ Needing clarification, he issued the question back to her.

"_You_ are asking _me_ to be _your_ date for Lucius Malfoy's 50th birthday party?" he asked, not attempting to disguise his incredulity.

"Yes." She said determinedly but allowed a smile to grace her smile. A smile Severus recognised as one full of mischief and cunning. _What is she playing at?_

"Are you out of your mind, Miss Granger? I cannot possibly show up to the event of the year with an ex-student, the Gryffindor Princess who was and remains the brains behind the Golden Trio."

"Severus… "She began softly, her smile becoming more genuine as she placed her small, manicured hand on his arm, "all of those labels for me are from the past. I have been the Hogwarts librarian for years, I'm a peer now and I like to think that we are also friends. There may be a few raised eyebrows from guest but I promise none of them could ever come close to your own."

"Is that flattery, Miss Granger?"

"Please…" Hermione used her puppy eyes, the ones that always got her anything she wanted from Ron; just curious to see if they would work on Severus.

"So, you would like this as a favour?" Severus asked a smirk forming on his previously gobsmacked face.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Fine. What do you want?" She asked with a huff as she folded her arms over her slightly visible cleavage.

"I see you finally remembered you are dealing with a Slytherin."

"Like I could ever forget."

The smirk faltered a little when his genuine fondness for the witch before him decided to make an appearance.

"I am nothing if not fair, Miss Granger. I will give you a choice of how you can repay me for the pleasure of my company. Either you can add two years to our previous deal, or you can cover Draco's classes for me the day after the party. I don't mind the fourth year class but the others; I truly do not wish to subject myself to."

Hermione spent a moment to consider before answering.

"As this is a very big favour I'm asking of you, I'll do both. The contract between us really isn't that bad and I'd have covered the classes anyway; the elves are more than capable of covering the library for the day and I have a couple of Ravenclaw seventh years who could help out in their free time. Deal?" she asked hopefully, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"Very well." He responded as he took her hand firmly and shook it. "I will get the details of time and dress code from Cissy and let you know.

"Thank you, Severus." Hermione said, as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek before turning to stride back to her quarters with a slight skip to her step.

Severus closed his door and turned back into his quarters before heading to the large black leather sofa in front of his fire. He sighed deeply, allowing himself to drop heavily to one corner and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fuck." He said to himself, remembering the note still in his hand.

He quickly summoned a parchment and self-inking quill to where he sat and wrote a note to Draco; this change in circumstances needed to be addressed quickly and his godson's reaction would need to be managed.

* * *

Draco had spent the last thirty minutes marking fourth year essays whilst waiting for a response from this random day of too many letters. He was just about to mark Imelda Waterson's compare-and-contrast assignment as 'O' when his floo flashed with purple flames and note darted toward him.

He grabbed it from the air and read the jagged, barely legible scrawl of his godfather and mentor.

_We have a problem._

* * *

**A/N: Ok, so it may be quite obvious that I am still in a Sevione state of mind, with the promise of Lumione sprinkles, but I promise our heroine's heart is still very much Draco's, she's just having a bit of a Slytherin day. As am I with the return of cliff hangers :D**


	7. Chapter 7 - Slytherin?

**A/N: Well, I'm back. I had no intention to be away this long from any of my stories but severe writer's block coupled with work and a few family birthdays and I was not fit to write one end of Hogwarts to the other. Things are still a little slow this end but the ideas I managed to pop into this chapter would not be denied. Hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 7 – Slytherin?

"Minerva, I can't. I love you like a second mum and I love Hogwarts but you can't make me do this. Isn't it bad enough that you've stuck me next to Snape at the staff table for the last five years? Seriously? What did I ever do to you?"

The Headmistress snorted a little before sipping her tea.

"Hermione, it's lovely to see you, have a seat. Would you like tea?"

"Thank you. Two sugars please."

As Severus is your date for the Malfoy party tomorrow night, I would assume you wouldn't mind that position."

Hermione took a deep exasperated sigh and tried one more time.

"Please Minerva. Don't make me do this. And Severus is only my date because my first choice, which would be Draco is too low in my current estimation to be worthy. And I was only going to take him to annoy _Lucius."_

"You wanted to take Draco _just_ to annoy Lucius? Come on now, Hermione. I know you would want to take him for _other _reasons. I was in the room when you confessed true feelings for him, remember?"

Minerva's face was a little more amused that Hermione felt she could stomach but she knew the Headmistress had a point.

"Fine. I wanted to take Draco as my date because I was hoping to drag him off to a dark nook or alcove somewhere in that delicious library of theirs but he just had to go and revert back to finding me repulsive. I was left with no other choice than to find a suitable replacement. And if I were to even consider doing what you're asking of me then it would be extremely disrespectful to my date; a date who is not a fan of being disrespected; in fact I wouldn't put it past him to take points from Gryffindor for my insolence in doing such a thing."

"Hermione, he would not do that and even if he did, you can take points from Slytherin and give points to Gryffindor so where's the harm? Not that I am condoning the idea of inciting a points war – he has played that game too well and for too long but I'm sure we could give him a run for his galleons. Also, it is no secret that over the last several years Lucius Malfoy has developed something of a… _fascination_ with you. He is the wealthiest man in all of Wizarding Britain and it would be of a wonderful benefit to school if you could persuade him to…"

Minerva was cut off by a growl of frustration.

"Minerva…" Hermione ground out through clenched teeth, trying to hold her temper, "you expect me to prostitute myself for the sake of some books. I am quite the bibliophile as you know but I am not willing to allow Lucius Malfoy to get paw at me with his nasty elitist grabby hands. It's too much. And Draco would hate it."

"Exactly my dear. Think how much Draco would hate it. Are you not still mad at him?"

"That is very Slytherin of you Minerva." Hermione said with a sly smile; slightly warming up to the idea.

"Well I have not spent the last thirty years in the company of Severus Snape without learning a thing or two. Not to mention our dearly departed Albus who was possibly worse than all the Slytherins put together in his deviousness."

"Ahem." Came the gentle throat clearing of the large painting of Albus Dumbledore directly behind Minerva's chair. "I am here you know."

Both Hermione and Minerva looked up at the wizened old man in the portrait who held a mock look of offence but the ever constant twinkle in his eyes. Betraying his amusement.

"Yes you are Albus. Can you try to talk some sense into her about this? Hermione has always listened to you. Surely you can see the importance of an expansion to the library and the substantial collection from Malfoy's archive of tomes. Some of these books are priceless and I am hardly asking Hermione to bed the man; just to be less resistant to his advances."

"Minerva, surely you can understand Miss Granger's reticence."

"But this is for the library," Minerva screeched, losing her patience. "Hermione this is to enhance and improve your domain. We need the investment of the Malfoys to ensure this plan can go ahead. Lucius's interest in you is a blessing in this. Please, Hermione."

"I don't know if I can stomach it Minerva. Honestly. As attractive as he is to the eye, the man is a vile wretch and I am likely to vomit on his perfectly fine and ponsy silken robes if he even touches me. I'm going to have to take an anti-nausea potion just to greet him when I arrive. Never mind what being in that house still does to me. Oooo, that reminds me, I must ask Severus for a calming draught."

Minerva let out a dramatic sigh, exasperated.

"Fine, I see you are not going to be persuaded, even after everything I've done for you."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"So you're going to play the guilt-card with me now? Minerva how could you?"

"I would never use guilt, I'm a Gryffindor."

Hermione's eyebrows rose in a disbelieving look.

"Be brave, Hermione. You're a Gryffindor too. Despite where your heart lies."

"I'll think about it." Hermione huffed and with her patience entirely expired, she headed to the Great Hall for lunch.

* * *

Draco stood at the main workbench in his potions lab staring at the cauldron before him; it simmered with a completely translucent liquid and as he waited for the timer on his wand to count down he prepared the last ingredient to his latest alteration of it – edible gold. It was only for aesthetic; he usually used silver but this was for Hermione and so he decided conceding to a little Gryffindor pride might help his cause. Not that anything else had worked.

As his wand buzzed with the alert time to say the potion was complete, he doused the flame beneath his 'lucky' cauldron – anything that might help – and added the glittery gold. Now it just needed an hour to cool.

_There's no way anything I say will get her back on side. She's barely even speaking to me. I wish she'd just look at me, smile at me, or even insult me. Something, anything to break that damn indifferent, emotionless stare she's adopted. It's like she's been taking lessons from Sev. Well, I have to try._

Draco reached his office desk and summoned parchment, ink and quill, trying to think what to write to the suddenly formidable and stoic owner of his heart. The only problem with thinking of her is that it triggered his new habit – replaying the scene that happened a week ago after receiving the damnable note from his Godfather.

_He grabbed the note from the air as it flew out of the purple flames of internal mail and read the jagged, barely legible scrawl of his godfather and mentor._

"_We have a problem." It read._

_Unable to fathom how this plan had gone wrong so quickly, Draco floo'd straight to Severus's quarters to be briefed on what he was sure was the first of many 'problems'. And, damn what a problem._

"_Ah, Draco, excellent. It seems our plan has something of a kink and will not be as simple as we first intended. Miss Granger seems to have, as usual, made our plans more difficult." He said, hiding his amusement that this development would actually add to the fun and games and may prove more helpful to Draco's cause._

"_What's going on?" Draco asked, the slight panic coming through in his voice._

"_I have just been paid a visit by your delectable Miss Granger. A visit in which I was issued a rather interesting request."_

"_What is it?" The panic morphing into frustration._

"_It seems _I _have caught the eye of our young librarian and she has invited me to be her date to your father's party."_

_Draco stared unblinkingly for what felt like hours at his Godfather. It felt like he may have misheard. _

_Feeling that his godson may have become catatonic at this news, Severus cleared his throat._

"_It seems that your mother personally invited Miss Granger after hearing about your current difficulties – no doubt to set up our plan and ensure her attendance."_

_Finally blinking and registering this was not a joke at the mention of the plan, Draco examined his thoughts on this latest development._

What is she thinking? I can understand mother getting her to the party but surely she realised asking her to come alone would incite the need to bring a date. This ruins everything. And Hermione? Why on earth would she pick Sev? That makes no sense at all, unless… is she trying to make me jealous? He is my mentor, my colleague and my Godfather… he's the closest thing to an uncle I have.

"_Do you think she's trying to make me jealous?" He asked slowly._

"_Is that the only reason you can think of for her to ask me? I know I am no spring chicken but perhaps she genuinely taken an interest in…"_

"_Oh please. You are not using this as an excuse to stroke your delicate ego. I assume you said yes."_

_Severus nodded._

"_Of course I said yes, this will bring me closer to the workings of the plan as they play out so I may lend my assistance if need. Do not however presume that she has not considered the evening with me as something more than a stab at your ego. You should've seen the dress she was wearing as she came to my door – completely black, wrapping around those delicious little curves of hers and a line of buttons down one side. It was very reminiscent of my teaching robes, albeit much more revealing and you know what they say about imitation…"_

"_It is the sincerest form of flattery." Draco finished on a sigh. "Do you really think her interest in you is genuine?"_

"_It's hard to tell. There could be an element in making you jealous. She has form for that. Remember Viktor Krum and the Yule Ball when Weasley didn't ask her? Not to mention when she took Oliver Wood to the Potter wedding after that fight her and Weasley had that was all over the Prophet. It is possible that this is all a ruse but she was nervous about approaching me, which possibly indicates genuine interest and the fear of rejection. Of course it's me so the fear of rejection would be palpable regardless of genuine interest but…"_

"_The genuine interest is not reciprocated, though; is it, Sev?"_

_Severus thought for a moment, keeping his expression unreadable._

"_I am undecided at present. We shall see how tomorrow evening plays out. It may not affect the plan at all. Your father will undoubtedly not care that she has chosen to attend with a date – that is only proper; he will still make his move. My reaction to his advances and your declaration will determine how sincere her interest is."_

"_And what reaction will that be?"_

_Severus's allowed a dark smile to curve at his lips._

"_We'll see, Draco. We'll see."_

Draco pulled himself from his memories and set to work on his letter… he knew this was the coward's way out but it was the only way he could get his side of things across. She'd taken to using an adapted version of Sev's _muffliato_ spell on her own ears so that she couldn't hear anything he said. It was ingenious but bloody annoying.

He signed his letter 'All my love, D' with a kiss and made his way back to his way back to the lab with his letter in hand. He needed to use a droplet of the potion on the letter to prove to her that what he was saying was true. The rest was to be bottled up and sent as a peace offering and to help her at the party.

* * *

Hermione had skipped lunch in the Great Hall; she'd gone to breakfast so Minerva couldn't complain too much. As the last week had drawn on, she had become more and more nervous about this party. Of course she could handle herself but she was still freshly single and quite raw about the break up; Draco had been nothing but lovely which was annoying considering she missed him being an arse.

_The Slytherin thing is such a turn on – all that sneering and smirking; the unfounded sense of superiority and smugness. Yum! Why did Draco have to get all noble on me –ugh, how disappointing. If I can't count on a Slytherin to take advantage of me, what hope do I have? Maybe Snape will try his luck… could I really do that? Draco would never forgive me. Same applies double for Lucius if I go a long with Minerva's silly ideas. Although… what I said to Draco is true; he is the original…_

A flurry of indigo flames surged in the fireplace of her office. Hermione wasn't keen on the shade of royal purple usually used for internal mail so she'd charmed it to a much darker, much richer colour.

A small parcel flew toward her and she caught it with swift reflexes. _I so could've been a seeker. If I had any interest in Quidditch that is. Not the point that I don't, I still could've._

She recognised Draco's handwriting immediately and sighed.

_Coward. Well at least he's trying to make it up, even if it is via internal mail._

Unwrapping the parcel and found a phial of clear liquid flecked with gold glitter.

It wasn't a familiar potion, maybe something in the same family as liquid luck but the golden hue wasn't there, just those flecks. She checked the box and found a shrunken envelope.

_Clever._

She waved her wand to enlarge in, took a deep breath and ripped the envelope open to read Draco's sorry excuses.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I know you're probably rolling your eyes that I'm trying again but I have no intention of giving up. I miss you. You're a good friend and I honestly do care about you. I've told you already about why I turned you down that night but the thing is there was more to it than I told you. The thing is, I am more than interested in us pursuing our feelings for each other – unless you're still trying to turn my hair ginger, which was a low blow – and I want to spend some time with you once all this party stuff is out the way. I'm curious why you asked Sev to go with you; will you tell me?_

_About the potion I sent, I thought you might find it useful for tomorrow night – it's one of my own design; I created it to complete my Potions Mastery actually. It's a polygraph potion and enables the drinker to tell when someone is lying. You'll see the person's breath come out as yellow if they are. It allows you're brain to detect any altered body language, twitches, perspiration, and then allows your perception of those changes to be seen in the breath of who is lying._

_It works with the written word too, see…_

_THE SKY IS GREEN._

_Those above words should be glowing yellow. If not, well I've sent you a bad batch but hopefully it works and you can see that what I said at the beginning of the letter is true. I really do like you, Hermione; more than like. I look forward to seeing you at dinner and at the Manor tomorrow._

_All my love_

_D_

"Oh fuck. Now that's Slytherin. Way to make me feel guilty Draco." Hermione said to her empty office.

_Well two can play the Slytherin game and if you want me as much as you say you do, you can prove it – and I can have some fun winding up the big bad Lucius Malfoy!_

Smiling for the first time in almost two weeks, Hermione took a small sheet of thick indigo parchment (internal memo card), and pens a quick note to Minerva.

_Hi Minnie_

_Ok, I'm in. You guilted me into it. But this is the last thing favour you can ask of me for... a year._

_Love HG_

With a flick of her wand, the memo was on its way to the Headmistress and Hermione felt better than she had in a long time.

_The Lioness in the Snake Pit. Perhaps I could publish a short story; I've been wanting to get into children's literature._

* * *

**A/N: Well there we have it… a little further on the road to where ever this is leading. I haven't a clue, just having fun with awkward situations. The party itself is two chapters away, not one. Dress shopping is very important to a girl and I think maybe another one-on-one style chat but who will I choose? Harry? Molly? Ginny? Severus?**

**Not sure how edgy my cliff hanger is, I'm out of practice but I would like to thank my wonderful friend, muse and sounding board, Dash, for supporting me through my lack of inspiration. :D**


	8. Chapter 8 - The Dress

**A/N: I know, I know, I've been away forever and started a new story and not updated anything in ages but in my defence I'm trying to let the stories percolate in my imagination like a rich coffee. **

**Now, after I mentioned a shopping trip for a party dress at the end of the last chapter, two reviewers have suggested Harry for Hermione's companion. My original plan was to go for Severus but I am taking the advice/suggestions of my readers into account – sort of.**

* * *

Chapter 8 – The Dress

After a single glass of firewhiskey last night – she was learning – and a very restful night's sleep, Hermione awoke on the day of Lucius's birthday hoping that her day would pass by quickly and she could get it all over and done with the least amount of stress and drama possible. She quickly prepared herself for the day – showering and shaving her… everything – before dressing in comfortable robes and digging through her wardrobe for a decent enough dress for her evening of Slytherin interest.

After an hour she decided she had fallen into every woman's worst nightmare – so many clothes, nothing to wear; especially for a high class event at the Manor of the wealthiest wizard in Britain. She wanted to look sexy but like she hadn't tried to look that way; she wanted Draco to be beside himself with jealousy as she walked in on the arm of his mentor and Godfather; she wanted said mentor and Godfather to have his jaw on the floor and his eyes popping out of his head at her transformation from prim and proper librarian to Gryffindor Goddess; and as for Lucius, well, she knew he'd be drooling anyway but it never hurt to make him ache a little more. She had spent too many years feeling scorned by Slytherins, then after the war, there was just a little too much 'letting off the hook' when it came to how she had been treated; now it was time to get her own back and make them want her with a vengeance; twice as desperately as they'd wanted to push her away before.

After looking through her clothes for a third time hoping to find something she'd missed the time before, she gave up the hunt for the perfect dress as a lost cause and resigned herself to the need to go shopping. For the impression she wanted to make, she needed something very Gryffindor red, bold, beautiful and showing some skin – but who to ask to go with her. It felt like a time to ask one of her female friends for assistance – Ginny was an option although she was pregnant again so probably wouldn't appreciate Hermione's slim figure being paraded around in pretty dresses; Luna… her interesting opinions would certainly make the shopping trip interesting but her taste would not be useful – _I'd probably end up wearing an enlarged radish._ Lavender would probably be a good choice if Hermione had any inclination to spend more than twenty minutes in her company, but… _no, just no_.

"Ok, so I'm taking one of the guys dress shopping… not Ron," she said to her wardrobe. "Definitely not Ron. Maybe Neville, his blush would be a good indicator for the sexiness of the dress, although that could get awkward. Ooooo, maybe I should ask Severus – he had impeccable taste in formal attire," she rolled her eyes, "No, I'd end up in black and I want to be in red… The Gryffindor Goddess in the Snake Pit, it has to be red. Well, I suppose that leaves Harry then. Not that he has the best sense in dresses but at least he'll support my choice of red dress, showing of the Gryffindor colours and he's unlikely to find me sexy regardless of what I wear; he has the amazon that is Ginny Potter, nee Weasley. Ironic she looked best in green."

She laughed to herself and penned a quick note to Harry, asking him to meet her at Madam Malkin's at 11am to help her pick a dress for the party and to join her for lunch too. Then, realising an owl would take too long to send and get a reply she sent her patronus instead. The silvery otter darted through the wall with her message to Harry as she headed to breakfast.

She was sat between Severus and Draco, eating poached eggs on toast with a spoonful of baked beans when Harry's silvery stag charged up to her and bowed before reciting Harry's voice…

"_Hey Mione, of course I'll go with you, I need to do a little shopping myself. Gin has a craving for Bertie Bott's Beans and she's enjoying the most disgusting flavours. 11 o'clock is fine, I'll see you at Malkin's. Would this dress be for Lucius's party tonight? I can't believe you're going. Who are you taking? Draco? I thought you'd got over that stupid crush you had on him in third year."_

Harry's patronus faded into nothing as Hermione's cheeks flamed.

Her arms folded across her chest as she saw nauseating smirks either side of her.

"I'm going to kill him." She ground out under her breath.

Unfortunately, her Slytherin neighbours both had excellent hearing.

Draco just laughed, silently thanking Harry for breaking the frost atmosphere between himself and Hermione, whilst Snape decided to reply.

"If Tom Riddle couldn't manage to kill Potter, what makes you think you can?" he asked, seeming highly amused.

"He trusts me," Hermione said, entirely too calmly. "He won't see it coming."

"It's slightly unnerving," Draco added, "That I can't tell if you're joking or not."

"Don't worry so much Draco," she said, turning to him and patting him on the arm. "You should feel lucky you're no longer at the top of my 'want to kill' list."

With that she made her way back to her rooms to prepare for her shopping trip, burgundy robes billowing in a wonderful imitation of Snape's legendary billow. It had taken five years to learn that it was a spell that caused the effect and had applied it to all of her robes, just to annoy him.

* * *

At 10.30am, Hermione left her rooms and headed toward the Hogwarts entrance to apparate directly to Diagon Alley. It was a Hogsmeade weekend which meant the corridors were practically empty except for the odd ghost gliding past her and giving her a chill. "I'm never going to get used to that" she said out loud and Nearly Headless Nick accidentally passed through her shoulder and made her shiver.

"My apologies Hermione. I'm afraid I wasn't looking where I was going. You get that way when walls don't prove themselves to be obstacles."

"It's ok Sir Nicholas. I wasn't paying attention either."

"Where are you off to today that has you so distracted, Hermione? You're usually much more aware of your surroundings."

"Oh I'm just off dress shopping. I have a party to go to tonight and need something new."

"That sounds delightful. Would this be Lucius Malfoy's party?"

Hermione nodded.

"I must say, I'm surprised you wish to attend a party at the Malfoy estate, given your, erm… history there."

"Well it wouldn't be my first choice of destination but Narcissa invited me personally, Minerva wishes for me to attend and do a little schmoozing for the Malfoys to help out with an expansion of the school library and Severus has agreed to accompany me so it shouldn't be too bad. Draco will be there too of course."

"Well it sounds like you have everything in hand, my dear. Have a wonderful time if I don't see you again beforehand. I'm sure you can handle anything those Slytherins can throw at you."

"Thank you, Sir Nicholas." She said with a smile.

'_Hopefully, he's right.' _ She thought as she reached the gates. She passed through the wards and apparated away.

* * *

Diagon Alley was the bustling magical metropolis she remembered from the first time she had been there. There were so many people it was hard for her to navigate her way through the crowds toward Madam Malkin's but she managed to make it within fifteen minutes… at least she was on time to meet Harry. He didn't mind her being late as much as the fact that when he was on his own, he still got asked for autographs and photographs. Ten years was apparently not long enough to kill his fame.

She stood outside the shop entrance waiting to see the still-unruly mop of dark hair which was as unmanageable as her own and the round rimmed spectacles and lightning shaped but completely inactive scar which would indicate her best friend was around. It took another five minutes of hanging around and sighing with impatience before he showed up.

"Hey Mione," he shouted from the other side of the street. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Only five minutes but that feels like a life time when I'm waiting to kill you."

Harry stopped halfway across the road at her words and stared into her very furious eyes.

"Wh-what have I d-done now? Did I accidentally ask you to do my homework again? You know, it's a very difficult habit to break." He asked with a smirk, hoping humour would diffuse the tension.

"No." She said as she let his joke bomb. "That patronus you sent arrived while I was at breakfast, sitting between Snape, who by the way is my date for tonight, and Draco, who couldn't keep the smirk of his face. I was mortified."

Harry had the presence of mind to look properly guilty and chastised, even if his eyes showed he was laughing in his head.

"Well, ok, I'm sorry but how was I supposed to know. And I can't possibly let you kill me, I have a baby on the way but you can go for a little hex if you really want to."

Hermione scowled. There's just no fun in hexing if you're given permission.

"Maybe later. Come on, let's get inside and find me a dress to literally knock the scales off this bunch of snakes I have to spend the evening with."

"Wait… did you say Snape is your date?" Harry asked incredulously.

She looked at his face and saw the shock and slightly judgemental disgust. He tolerated the potions master these days but still wasn't a huge fan.

"Yes. It's not like I could ask Draco after the other week, even if Narcissa wanted me to and I needed someone to help me blend into the veritable snake pit where I shall be spending my entire night. I don't really want to talk about it… dresses now, talk over lunch."

Ok, fine. What sort of dress do you want?" Harry asked as they started perusing the racks of robes, dresses and shoes.

"Red… Gryffindor red… with the wow factor… boobs under my chin, slit up to thigh…"

"How can you say you want to blend in when you plan on walking in like the poster girl for Gryffindor?"

"Well I feel comfortable is red and I'm going to need all the comfort I need while I'm there. Plus it might just annoy them all enough to keep their paws off me. I want a dress that says look but don't touch." She said as she pulled several red dresses from the racks – silk ones, satin, lace, sweetheart neckline, halter necks, long with slits up both thighs, short that left hardly anything to the imagination.

After forty five minutes and Harry doing his best to not think of his best friend sexually, he finally lost the fight when she walked out of the changing room in a bright red, three-inches-above-the-knee length, short-sleeved lace dress which was practically see-through apart from the thick stitching of the lace.

"What about this?" She asked twirling around in front of her gobsmacked best friend.

Harry's eyes popped out of his head.

"Even I couldn't keep my hands off you in that, Mione and you know I don't think of you that way."

"Fuuuuuck." A low drawl hissed from an unseen corner, which only Harry heard as Hermione said…

"Perfect. Exactly the reaction I was after. Do you really think it will work?" She asked, smoothing her hands down her sides and moving back to the mirror on the shop floor.

"Yeah, yeah…" Harry said, distractedly looking for the person belonging to the disembodied voice. "You've got me sporting a semi."

"Harry!" She exclaimed as she spun back to look at him.

She sighed with exasperation when she realised he wasn't even looking.

"You're not even paying attention. What are you looking for?"

"I could've sworn I just heard someone reacting to your dress; someone that wasn't me. But there's no one here."

Hermione joined him in looking around the shop. When there was clearly no one there, she shrugged and decided Harry was imagining things.

"So what do you really think of the dress?"

"You look stunning, Mione. Those Slytherins are all going to have trouble keeping their eyes and hands off you. Are you sure that's what you want? Seriously, Mi, you look like snake bait in that dress."

Hermione looked down at herself. The cut was quite low; not indecent but more revealing that anything else she owned. It reminded her of the cocktail dress 'Vivien' had worn in Pretty Woman, only red instead of black.

"Of course it's what I want. Draco can eat his fucking heart out for turning me down, hopefully I'll do Snape proud, he never did have much luck with women, especially after your mother and as for Lucius Malfoy… well Minerva wants me to let him get a little handsy so I can get him to open his wallet."

"Well, that's a lot of information. So you came on to Draco and he turned you down? You're going to the party with Snape to make him jealous? And, you're going to flirt with Lucius Malfoy too? Damn, you really are snake bait tonight."

"I think that pretty much covers it. But I do have one more little thing to add to the dress considering I'm going to be 'snake bait' as you call it."

"Really? What's that?" Harry asked as they walked to the counter.

"A colour changing charm. It's only red until one of them touches me, then the base colour will turn green and the thick lace will be silver, shape into snakes and slither across the dress. I practiced the charm last night for the colour change and made up the bit about the silver and the snakes. I don't see why people don't create their own spells more often, it's quite easy once you understand the foundations of magic."

"Not everyone is a Brainiac like you, Mi. Why are you doing the spell anyway?"

"Because it's fun, it'll surprise the hell out of the other guests and it'll make people wonder just how much I like Slytherins."

"Do you like Slytherins?" Harry asked, a little nervous for the answer.

"Well, I'm in love with one so I suppose I must do. And since the last member of the actual Slytherin line is dead and buried," she gave a knowing, proud and triumphant smile at Harry, "there really is no reason not to."

"So which Slytherin is it you actually want to bed? From the sound of it you'll be quite spoiled for choice tonight."

From beneath a disillusionment charm, Severus Snape strained his ears to hear her answer.

"Well, Draco of course."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"Harry don't look at me like that. You know how I feel about him. You've known for ages and now me and Ron are finally over with I want Malfoy."

"What about Snape? He's hardly going to be happy you used him to make Draco jealous."

Madam Malkin finally bustled toward the counter to charge Hermione for the dress. Maggie Malkin handed Hermione the invoice and asked her to tap her wand to the parchment to pay from her Gringott's account.

They left the shop with Hermione explaining her reasons for asking Snape.

"It's not like he'd ever be interested in me anyway and he knows my interest are completely with the younger Potions Master of Hogwarts. Not to mention, Narcissa is probably going to try and set him up with… Oh shit, I forgot to get shoes. Will you go order me a butterbeer and cottage pie at the Leaky, please? I'll be five minutes."

"Ok, sure." Harry said and headed off toward the pub. Hermione headed back inside Madam Malkin's.

* * *

Oooomph.

As Hermione was heading back through the shop door, it seemed someone, or something, and an invisible something at that, was heading out.

"Sorry." She murmured as she looked up into the invisible hardness of someone's chest.

"My apologies Hermione, I believed you had finished your shopping for the day." Snape said in his usual bored drawl as he removed the disillusionment charm.

"Oh, Severus. Hi. What are you doing here?"

Snape decided it was best to half-lie, half tell the truth.

"I saw you leave the castle and came to confirm tonight's plans. Whether you wish to meet me at the entrance or have me pick you up from your quarters. When I entered Madam Malkin's and saw that you were trying on dresses, I did not wish for you to feel embarrassed about me seeing you in a state of undress. I disillusioned myself and averted my eyes as often as was necessary."

"Oh," Hermione said, blushing. "Well, ok then. Erm… I think it would be ok for you to pick me up from the library. It is a 'date' of sorts, after all."

"I see. Well, far be it from me to argue…"

"Of course. You never do that." Hermione interrupted sarcastically, with a devilish grin to match.

Severus sighed.

"You have a point but from what I overheard in the shop, this date is simply a ruse to get an envious reaction from Draco."

"Ok, fine. It is. But that doesn't mean I won't enjoy your company. Not to mention I may need your help a little later in the night. Minerva wants me to…"

Snape held his hands up; he'd already heard what Minerva wanted her to do.

"In understand what Minerva has asked of you. I am surprised you allowed her to manipulate you like that. You realise she guilted you into it?"

"Of course I am but after this, she owes me… a lot and it's useful to have the Headmistress in my debt."

"How positively Slytherin of you, Miss Granger."

Hermione smirked, put her arm through the Potion Master's and headed back into the shop for shoes.

"I learn from the best. Now, did you like my dress?"

"I will be envy of every man in the room, Hermione; not just the Malfoy's"

"Thank you." She replied with a smile. "Now, the reason I came back in and bumped into you was for shoes. I know you have a predisposition for black but do you think I should go for red to match the dress, or black to contrast it?"

"Hmmm, how about using that colour change spell you mentioned, so that with the red dress, they're red, with the green and silver dress, they're black?"

Hermione smiled and nodded.

"That's an amazing idea. I saw the exact pair I wanted earlier, I just got distracted by the dress and well… I suppose you know the rest." She said as she ran off toward the shoe display.

"Indeed. And that spell is ingenious; you shall have to share it with me."

"I'll think about it. Although, I suppose since I did steal Muffliato from you, I should share."

"Oh did you now? And how did the Muffliato spell is mine?"

"Long story." She replied without looking as she tapped her wand to the new invoice.

"Perhaps you can tell me about it tonight… during a dance?"

"Ok." She replied simply as they headed for the door. "If you promise to rescue me from dancing with Lucius more than once."

"He will be after you all night in that dress. And he is at perfect liberty to do so. He and Narcissa have quite the open arrangement to their marriage."

"Oh, just great." She responded sarcastically. "That's all I need. I knew taking you would make Draco jealous and I know I can trust you to keep your hands to yourself but his father. I'm not sure Draco would ever get over it."

"Leave that to me. I was a spy for a long time, I know how to run interference."

"Ok. Thank you. And thanks for being so understanding about this whole situation. I really don't know what I'd do without you. You've become such an amazing friend."

Hermione reached up and kissed his cheek.

And just like that Severus Snape realised he'd been friend-zoned.

"Well, I'd better run or I'll be late for lunch with Harry. See you later Severus."

And off she darted into the crowds toward the Leaky Cauldron, leaving Severus to ponder whether he was disappointed or not that Hermione Granger had declared him a friend and nothing more.

* * *

**A/N: I have no idea where this came from but the shopping seemed like an important scene to add in… using Harry as the companion did allow me to bring him into some of the plots and secrets that have been going on and I made opinions of Snape and Harry more relaxed with each other because it has been ten years. **

**I probably could've added lunch with Harry into this chapter too but I think they wouldn't discuss anything new or interesting; just reminisce about the old days, maybe talk a bit about Ron and Draco and Snape… and about Ginny and the baby etc. I can add it at the beginning of the next chapter, if you guys want me to. Let me know in reviews.**

**The beginning of the party will definitely be in the next chapter but as I write in circles and there will be drama, I can imagine the party to last at least two chapters if not three.**

**I am very curious what everyone is thinking about this chapter so please leave your reviews and I'll respond as much as I can.**

**Love and Blessings until next time.**

**Moon Out!**


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